Josh Smith for LaMarcus Aldridge

[Jamaaliver]

Their stats are nearly identical. (Though admittedly Smoove has higher Steals, Blocks AND Assists)

But LaMarcus gives us a legitimate option at center and is a big strong body in the middle. A seven footer at 250 pounds.

The production differences are offset by having two guys in the starting lineup who CAN average almost 10 rebs a piece.

SF is still covered by Marv and Chill and Shelden and Zaza back up the 4 and 5 spots.

It clears up the logjam at forward and gives us an actual legit starting C.

[CAM]

That's a very tough call. I can't decide. If I wasn't such a homer I'd probably say yes...........

But I don't see the 'logjam' at forward you speak of.

[HoopsGuru25]

No thanks. Aldridge has had a good numbers of injuries for some one who is only 22 years old. He missed alot of his freshman year in college with a hip iniury,shoulder surgery his rookie year,that heart condition his rookie year,and he also missed some games with a foot injury this season. We could really use his offense though.

[evildallas]

Ah, this must be one of those hypothetical questions because I don't see any way Portland does this. As you say Aldridge can play C, which makes him more valuable. Just because he puts up similar number to Josh Smith doesn't change that. Forwards are more easily replaced whereas C is scarce. I love Josh Smith and have no desire to trade him, but Aldridge would command more respect from defenses in the post which should open more things up. I think we'd lose some of defense so it would probably be a lateral move.

As an aside, I wonder if Paxson is constantly reminded that he could have had Aldridge instead of Thomas like BK hears about CP3 and Roy.

[pr0nny]

Heh..this reminds me of that thread where ATL fans were all Josh Smith >>> Aldridge this last offseason. Remember that?

And yeah, Portland says no.

[Jamaaliver]

And yeah, Portland says no.

I think the shot blocking, steals and agility might make PORTLAND Execs ponder a frontcourt of Oden and Smith.

That'd be like 7 blocks a game between them Oden the great one on one post defender. Smoove the great weakside help defender.

Lamarcus' injury history is a concern. But his post scoring would be a real commodity for a team like ours. (With very little consistent half court scoring)

But I don't see the 'logjam' at forward you speak of.

Horford, Shelden, Marvin, Smoove, Chills all play the same two positions.
Thats four consecutive lottery picks to man the same spots.

[CAM]

Horford, Shelden, Marvin, Smoove, Chills all play the same two positions.
Thats four consecutive lottery picks to man the same spots.

I disagree. They spread from the 2 to the 5. It's obvious.

Shelden isn't giving us enough backing up the 5. That's the only problem I see (apart from a 3 pt shooter and solid pg play, but that's another story).

[evildallas]

You are right that all 5 are natural forwards, but they have skills to play 2-5.

At selection time, Childress was picked as a SG. At least that's what BK said. He might be a natural SF, but the intention was he had the skills to play the 2 and would give us a size advantage. He does play a lot in the back court.

Smoove was picked as a forward. I don't think it was clear whether he would develop into a 3 or 4 at the time because he was so young. He's become a 4 even though Smitty goes out of his way on broadcasts to call him a SF. He isn't a traditional Paul Silas/Charles Oakley 4, but rather is in the mold of a Shawn Marion (long and athletic).

Marvin was picked as a SF. He was also young and a project but expected to develop into a modern prototype forward with size, speed, range, and athleticism.

Shelden was picked as a NBA ready role player. BK anticipated that Shelden could play at both the 4 and the 5. We can remove him from the equation as a blown lottery pick. I thought it was a blown pick the minute it was announced.

Al Horford was picked to play mostly C. He may be a natural PF, but the truth is there aren't enough traditional C's to go around. He's providing exactly what BK had hoped Shelden would provide a year earlier. I give kudos to BK for at least realizing that Shelden wasn't the solution (albeit late).

Al and Shelden are the only full redundancy, but that is mitigated by Shelden not being starter level.

[killbuckner]

Yeah- I would do that if I were the Hawks. I think a Horford/Aldridge frontline would be much more potent than Smith/Horford.

[Harry10]

no...... ATL fans over value Smith and POR fans over value Aldridge

Smith is not a true offensive low post threat, but a game changer on defense.

Aldridge is a legit offensive low post threat, but is soft.

how about Horford for Aldridge.

[conleyorbust]

Heh..this reminds me of that thread where ATL fans were all Josh Smith >>> Aldridge this last offseason. Remember that?

And yeah, Portland says no.

From an Atl homer perspective, I wouldn't do it. I might from a basketball management perspective BUT I think its important to keep in mind that by almost any objective statistical metric Josh Smith is ">>>" than Aldridge. Thats PER, oncourt/offcourt +/-, net +/-, and Roland rating. Probably also by Win Score but I think that stat and its relatives are BS so I didn't look it up.
EDIT: Looked it up anyway and Smith is better by that metric too, but disregard it because that is a bull metric.

You can also do a simple stat comparison. Smith is a (marginally) better rebounder but a significantly better defender. Aldridge turns it over less but also creates waaaaaay fewer shots for other players. He also takes it inside a whole lot less which is evidenced by Smith's significantly higher rate of FTs which both increases Smith's scoring efficiency by comparison and makes Smith's scoring contributions more useful to his teamates because he puts more pressure on a D and is better at passing out when the D collapses on him, which it does more often than on Aldridge anyway.

So like I said, there are legitimate reasons to trade for Aldridge, mainly he is about an inch taller than Horford (although a lot scrawnier) so we could have a very big athletic frontline. There are also reasons not to, for now he isn't as good of a player as Smith, he isn't any younger (actually a little older), and he is a legitimate injury risk as he missed time in college, 20 games last season, and 5 so far this season.

[Rip2137]

Plus, I think his back to the basket game is getting overrated. He has one, but he is more likely to take a midrange jumper than anything else. Which he is very good at, but its not like he is pounding the ball inside to get his points. He is Channing Frye with 50% less suck.

Meaning he is a damn talented kid, and is going to be very very good if he can get healthy, and will be part of a monster front line in Portland with the inside/midrange connection with he and Oden, but he isn't exactly a low post monster.

Although he has started drawing double teams which is cool to see...though he obviously isn't used to it yet.

[Harry10]

Plus, I think his back to the basket game is getting overrated. He has one, but he is more likely to take a midrange jumper than anything else. Which he is very good at, but its not like he is pounding the ball inside to get his points. He is Channing Frye with 50% less suck.

Meaning he is a damn talented kid, and is going to be very very good if he can get healthy, and will be part of a monster front line in Portland with the inside/midrange connection with he and Oden, but he isn't exactly a low post monster.

Although he has started drawing double teams which is cool to see...though he obviously isn't used to it yet.

i think that Aldridge is a rich man's Eddy Curry

[Rip2137]

I think of Pau Gasol as a rich mans Eddy Curry.

I think of Aldridge as a middle class man's Jermaine O'Neal(for that month that he isn't hurt)

[Harry10]

^ all three guys could ge on the same level. Pau gets rebounds, but his D is soft.

based on size and skill, both Curry and Aldridge don't grab enough rebounds.

[Rip2137]

Pau Gasol is a 7-9 rebound per game guy. that isn't impressive at all. that 9.9 last year was a abberation due to him playing so few games. he usually floats around the mid 8's with a couple of years in the 7's.

Pau is just like Curry and Aldridge. they get the rebounds that come to them, but they don't go and get any of them. The Grizz started that uptempo offense last year and this one so there are more rebounds coming to him.

[pr0nny]

Aldridge doesn't have any injury concerns. There were a couple things here and there but that's done with. That's like saying Smith is a malcontent. Might not be entirely true these days but he's had issues in the past and that's not what we're looking for in Portland.

Aldridge is untouchable.

I think your team is neat. Good luck this season.

[mojomarc]

I wouldn't say Aldridge is untouchable, but I don't think Smith is a good fit in that trade with Portland. Unfortunately, the positions both teams have logjams at are the same, which means it would make sense for both teams to want to get rid of SFs. As such, this makes us terrible trading partners unless a third party is involved.

As for Aldridge being soft...? He definitely doesn't rebound at the rate that I'd like him to, and he doesn't score as much in the paint as he should, but both of those seem to be more related to McMillan wanting to spread the floor and keep Aldridge more to the outside. I think when Oden comes in, Nate will be changing a bit of the offense to accomodate more low post opportunities and that Aldridge's paint scoring and rebounding will pick up because of that. Right now, it's hard for him to do either when one of his primary responsibilities is to set high screens for Brandon Roy. Because of this, I think he tends to look softer than he really is, although he still is a little bit on the soft side, something I think will improve for him as he bulks up his upper body a bit.

Good luck with the rest of the season guys. It's going to be pretty exciting in a few years when you and Orlando and Toronto are duking it out for conference dominance.

[D21]

Rip, you don't like Gasol OK, but he has one thing that Curry or Aldridge don't have, he can pass the ball well for a C/PF. He knows the game and how to play with teammates (Aldridge has time to learn).

[geeman]

What about Marvin Williams for Aldridge?