Al Jefferson question

Zin5 · Post #21 » by **Zin5** » Tue Jan 15, 2008 10:29 pm

I really hope for the sake of Al that Minnesota ends up with Deandre Jordan in the draft. He's the kind of defensive center that Al and Minnesota really needs to make Al a great player for a decade. Al's already a great bigman, but nothing on that team complements him right now and the team is just pathetic after him. Regardless of his situation, Al helps his team win, but one can only help so much. He needs four other contributions on the floor with him and he's not getting that. Without Al, the Wolves would probably be looking at single digit wins for the entire season and they wouldn't even be that close to ten total. The Celtics would have still been a playoff team without the KG trade.

AWalkerREMIX · Post #22 » by **AWalkerREMIX** » Tue Jan 15, 2008 11:21 pm

Al n' Perk No Layups! wrote:Funny, I don't remember KG winning any titles in Minny, and he had a better cast than Al has.

KG hasn't won any titles, he's not a winner. Paul Pierce hasn't won any titles, he's not a winner. Ray Allen hasn't won any titles, he's not a winner. All of these statements are as valid as yours.

Last time I checked, Basketball is a team sport, when Al gets better teamates, he will win.

As if the words came from my own mouth. :clap:

Post #23 » by **SuperDeluxe** » Wed Jan 16, 2008 1:06 am

Is there any GM or coach in this league who wouldn't LOVE to have Al Jefferson?

ddb · Post #24 » by **ddb** » Wed Jan 16, 2008 3:49 pm

I don't think DeAndre Jordan is a good fit next to Al. Jordan is still pretty raw and it's going to take him a few years before he's ready to contribute consistently at the NBA level.

Best bet for Big Al is to get a star PG like Rose...Look at how much better David West and Tyson Chandler got with the addition of Chris Paul. Big Al would average 25ppg playing with a Rose.

Datruth345 · Post #25 » by **Datruth345** » Wed Jan 16, 2008 4:44 pm

i don;t think it's fair to Al to bring this into question so early

ddb · Post #26 » by **ddb** » Wed Jan 16, 2008 5:34 pm

Big Al makes millions of dollars to play basketball. I'm pretty sure it's fair if we discuss whether or not he's a #1, #2, or #3 option on a winning team...

Datruth345 · Post #27 » by **Datruth345** » Wed Jan 16, 2008 6:55 pm

those two factors don't equate

he is young and still developing as a player and learning the intricacies the game of basketball

if the suits and ties give him 12 million dollars at this stage in his career thats not his fault and he shouldn't be criticized for it

ddb · Post #28 » by **ddb** » Wed Jan 16, 2008 7:04 pm

I'm not knocking Big Al...I love Big Al. I'm asking for opinions. Is he ever going to be good enough to lead a winning team? Will he be a #1 option?
If he wants to be that guy he needs to learn how to defend better.

tombattor · Post #29 » by **tombattor** » Wed Jan 16, 2008 7:23 pm

ddb wrote:I'm not knocking Big Al...I love Big Al. I'm asking for opinions. Is he ever going to be good enough to lead a winning team? Will he be a #1 option?
If he wants to be that guy he needs to learn how to defend better.

FWIW, he's already the #1 option. He was on the C's last year too. I think he has the skills to eventually lead his team to some success. But it will depend on what kind of supporting cast he gets and how much he developes. One thing for sure is that he's still young and has time to get better.

If you are asking if he will ever become a player like Duncan, then my answer is no. Even though many thought he should be the first player in the NBA to be enshrined into HOF after his 3rd year, it's becoming clear that he won't be one of the top 2 or 3 players in the league. But as I've said million times, that doesn't mean he will never win. He just needs better supporting cast than a player like Lebron to go far. But he's certainly good enough to eventually become a big piece to a championship puzzle.

rambo_ortega · Post #30 » by **rambo_ortega** » Thu Jan 17, 2008 7:52 am

i see him as an elton brand. brand was losing until the right players came in his team and until he matured as a player. he also had a lot of losses while he was in chicago. however, the question of whether the twolves would be better with kg or duncan with the same players. i would say yes. these 2 players have been one of the most valuable guys in the NBA for the past decade.

nasbahceltic · Post #31 » by **nasbahceltic** » Thu Jan 17, 2008 4:31 pm

Al needs a playmaker at the PG position. If he was playing with a guy like Chris Paul or Deron Williams he'd be in the conversation as a top 10 big in the league (although you can already probably make that argument).

I'm hoping Minny gets Derrick Rose in the draft. He and Big Al would be one hell of a combo for the future. After our run is over with the big three I'd defintely be pulling hard for the TWolves to win a few, although Portland looks to have the West locked up for the foreseeable future.

Post #32 » by **I love heinsohn** » Thu Jan 17, 2008 5:16 pm

rambo_ortega wrote:i see him as an elton brand. brand was losing until the right players came in his team and until he matured as a player. he also had a lot of losses while he was in chicago. however, the question of whether the twolves would be better with kg or duncan with the same players. i would say yes. these 2 players have been one of the most valuable guys in the NBA for the past decade.

Good points here. Right now Al is probably a little less of a player than Brand, but his ceiling I think is higher b/c of those low post moves. Al needs a rugged center next to him (something Doc never figured out) and good ball movement on the wings. I think the TWolves can improve the second half of the season even with all the dead weight. Add a Rose or Beasley to that team and it will be a lot easier to judge Al next season...

Post #33 » by **UGA Hayes** » Thu Jan 17, 2008 8:52 pm

rambo_ortega wrote:i see him as an elton brand. brand was losing until the right players came in his team and until he matured as a player. he also had a lot of losses while he was in chicago. however, the question of whether the twolves would be better with kg or duncan with the same players. i would say yes. these 2 players have been one of the most valuable guys in the NBA for the past decade.

Awesome Awesome point. A lot of players on that original team outside of Brand went onto to be all star to near all star caliber players. The post Jordan Chicago team was the poster child for patience. I think that team had Brand, Brad Miller, Ron Artest, Brent Barry, and others.

Kids Are Alright · Post #34 » by **Kids Are Alright** » Thu Jan 17, 2008 9:08 pm

Dirk playing a totally different sort of bball has been a great player w/o being a defender, it's just that he's not in the paint and responsible in the way that Al is.

threrf23 · Post #35 » by **threrf23** » Thu Jan 17, 2008 9:39 pm

I love heinsohn wrote:-= original quote snipped =-

Good points here. Right now Al is probably a little less of a player than Brand, but his ceiling I think is higher b/c of those low post moves. Al needs a rugged center next to him (something Doc never figured out) and good ball movement on the wings.

While the difference may be slight, Al is also a better rebounder right now than Elton Brand has ever been.