Cole Aldrich's future

PhilasFinest · Post #1 » by **PhilasFinest** » Thu Jan 26, 2012 5:00 pm

Hey, was wondering what your guys thoughts were on Cole Aldrich.... does he have a future with OKC/The NBA or is he a bust???

Am a Kansas fan and was just wondering if he's just buried on the bench behind a deep, talented thunder team or hes just not developing into the shot blocking big he projected to be.

Krodis · Post #2 » by **Krodis** » Thu Jan 26, 2012 5:29 pm

He struggled in limited playing time last year, but has looked better this year. A lot of us figure he'll replace Nazr as the backup C next year or later this, depending on how Nazr holds up.

Phailadelphia · Post #3 » by **Phailadelphia** » Thu Jan 26, 2012 8:45 pm

I think he'll be the backup C by the time the playoffs roll around.

Post #4 » by **sonictecture** » Thu Jan 26, 2012 10:50 pm

Scott Brooks is no longer a coach developing a young roster, he is the coach of a contending team. As such his responsibilities have changed a bit. Aside from injuries there is no evidence that Aldrich will jump Nazr in the rotation anytime this year. Next year could be the year Aldrich is offered a bigger role on the team.

It's difficult to say what the future of Aldrich is, we've been given very little evidence to suggest his long term future is in OKC.

Post #5 » by **slick_watts** » Thu Jan 26, 2012 11:13 pm

I think Nazr's career may have been ended by the lockout. He looks way out of shape still. Aldrich might be better than him right now. But I suspect Brooks will be slow bringing him along since Nazr is a veteran.

Phailadelphia · Post #6 » by **Phailadelphia** » Fri Jan 27, 2012 6:05 am

slick_watts wrote:I think Nazr's career may have been ended by the lockout. He looks way out of shape still. Aldrich might be better than him right now. But I suspect Brooks will be slow bringing him along since Nazr is a veteran.

Nazr isn't out of shape. He tweeted relentlessly about working out every single day over the lockout. I think he's finally hit that real decline where you see a noticeable drop in athleticism and the like.

Post #7 » by **wizkid27** » Mon Jan 30, 2012 8:02 am

I feel like everyone has been saying that Nazr fell off and looks awful.. I'm not saying he's been great this year, I just haven't noticed much of a difference. Solid bball, few big mistakes, couple of decent plays and overall not much to get excited about. That said, I would really like to see Cole get some minutes in the 2nd half of games that we're leading by 8-10+. I don't think the drop off between Nazr and him is significant enough to make a huge difference and would give some valuable experience and insight into whether he can help us out more than Nazr is down the stretch.

Post #8 » by **sonictecture** » Mon Jan 30, 2012 11:14 pm

What is Scott Brooks incentive for moving Aldrich ahead of Nazr? I don't think he has one. He's got very few established veterans on the team and has decided to use Nazr as the back up center. Short of injury I don't see how Cole takes his spot.