Al Jefferson is slowly becoming one of the top 5 PF.

[DieselCeltic]

Sota' did get a helluva deal when they made trade with us. We got KG and we got the 'chip, but they got a future hall of famer as well. Big Al is putting crazy numbers this early season. I watched him play vs the Spurs last night and man, his game has improved dramatically. His foot work and his hook shot and his passing has gotten a lot better. If he continues to play the way he is playing right now, no doubt in my mind he will be in the ALL-STAR. Who knows, the kid is still young. I would welcome him back with open arms. Also, seeing Gomes brought back a lot of memories. Gomes and Powe, them two deserve all the respect and success they can ever get. Great kids, great players, great for the community and great at giving back.

Btw, forgot to add: Big Al had 30points, 14 rebounds (could be wrong).

[Tricky Ricky]

Agreed, I dont know how soo many people thought the KG deal was lopsided? Sure we got the better player right now and Al probably will never be better than KG but Minn needed to get rid of KG and they got a future top 5 pf out of it, seems like a good deal to me.

[bruno sundov]

Al is a totally differnet player than KG. He is protypical big man. He wants to bang, rebound and score.

[sully00]

Much like I said the entire time he was here Al isn't really becoming a top 5 PF he is becoming a top 5 center. The only question with Al is health and if he will round into an effective defender. Early on this season he is at least even on net PER and more importantly the team is significantly better on defense when he is on the court as opposed to last year.

Also I don't know who the people you are talking about Tricky are but a majority hated this trade when it happened. There wasn't but a handful of posters who didn't think Al would be an All Star caliber big man. The key was they though he would be better than KG at this point and offensively he may be, we now know what else KG brings to the table. I loved the deal but I am just a psycho Celtics fan in his 30's who loved KG and Pierce and wanted them to win a championship. If you were watching Power Rangers when PP was at Kansas I can see why you thought the deal sucked.

The tough part is that Gomes and Al are just awful together defensively and Ryan is getting lit up at the 4 with Al at the 5. The Wolves are just in the same position that we were a couple of years ago collecting assets to try and make a bigger move but they are a collection of assets more than building blocks of a team I don't see a lot of the pieces really fitting together on both ends of the court. That said Love looks pretty good.

[celtics543]

Sully, count me in the Power Ranger group, I was only 10 when Paul was drafted, and it absolutely killed me to see Big Al traded. I thought the trade was terrible, and said that the only way it could be considered a good trade would be if we won a champoinship. So in retrospect, it was a great trade.

Al is still my favorite non-Celtic in the league and I love that he's playing great in Minny. It's going to hurt in a few years though when he's dominating the league and KG is retired with his number hanging in the rafters, but at least it will have 1 or possibly more new championship banners hanging next to it.

[OBisHalJordan]

i don't understand why kg doesn't have a jump hook like big al. people say kg is a different type of player but their body types don't appear all that different. jefferson is not a hulk like howard. he is a finesse player but he still manages to play almost exclusively down low and, importantly, also makes his moves going toward the basket. kg on the other hand almost always fades away and, as a result, he doesnt get to the line as much as you would expect from a player of his caliber. i don't think there is any explanation for why kg doesnt do this besides that he just doesnt want to you. once and while kg will do a jump hook and its nice. i think it would add a lot to the Cs offensive he mixed up more down low. he has the entire package. why doesnt he use it? seriously, you would think some one as competitive as him would realize that the jump hook, an up an under or any other post move going toward the basket would bring a lot to his game, his team's offensive abilities and his chances of further success. right now the the celtics best low post scorer is powe, then peirce, then kg. at least, kg jumper is good and he doesn't jack up threes like 'toine (who despite all his faults i will always illogically like).

jefferson is a beast on the block, though. that game last night was nice. i think sully is right he is becoming a center and a very old school version of one at that. to me, he seems like a skinny hakeem with weak defense. i find him real fun to watch but i really enjoy post play, especially graceful moves and killer fakes. when amare stoudamire and dwight howard's athleticism starts to fade and, with it, their games big al will still be faking people out of their socks. i hope he can put it all together and become a force on defense otherwise the wolves should be looking for someone like tyson chandler to pair with him. that would be nasty, imagine putting big al on the hornets right now in place of david west. damn

[vct33]

I love Al. I'm thrilled that he is doing well. I hope he does turn into a HOF type player. God, I wish Perkins had half of the post moves that Jefferson has. He is the best low post scorer in the NBA.

[tombattor]

Al is putting up monster numbers, but those numbers aren't translating into wins. He's an awesome offensive player with soft hands for rebounding. However, his D and passing prevents him from being an absolute beast. And those are the reasons we are better off with KG than waiting for him to learn to do those things because great majority of NBA players never develop those things, if they come into the league without them.

[AlCelticFan]

"but those numbers aren't translating into wins."
To be fair, his team is horrible. I haven't seen Al play in a forever, so maybe his defense is still under par? But if he can play average defense, and couple that with his GREAT offense, than I think he is doing very well. He is still SOOO young...

[sam_I_am]

I agree with Al developing as top 5 (closer to 5 than 1) PF but disagree entirely with future hall of famer.

He is not a guy who wins games but rather puts up impressive stats. Right now I see him as a Zach Randolph type who actually is a top 5 PF right now but cannot lead a team to wins.

To get a top 5 player in the game like KG is a lopsided deal and always will be. Al has a great low post game offensively and a good nose for rebounds but isn't a playmaker like KG or Gasol and isn't a dependable defender like KG or Howard.

I agree with Sully that offensively he is actually a center. Defensively he is a liability at both C and PF. Eventually if he was paired with a top notch PF defender he could be a part of a very good to great team. But how hard is it to get a defensive difference maker (like KG) at PF and keep a guy like Al at the same time? Minnesota couldn't even get a Perkins to play next to KG.

Al is scorer who handles the rebounds. But he still takes to many shots to get to his 20 points because he doesn't draw enough fouls and he still makes mediocre PF's into 20 pt scorers with his terrible defense. I don't see him winning games for another 5 years unless Minny drafts a true superstar.

[Celtsfan1980]

I'm happy for him, and have been following his performances more than any other non-Celtics. I really wish the Wolves kept Mayo. I just don't see Jefferson and Love being a good combination. Jefferson is better defensively at the 4 than he is at the 5, so I think they should have kept Mayo and paired Jefferson up with a Center ideally in the draft. They could have had a very good future ahead of them but I think McHale made the wrong choice.

[LenBiasBaller]

I think AL has the best post moves in the League hands down. His footwork is crazy.

I love everything that transpired with KG and RA...but sometimes I do wonder about RA, PP, and AL...that would be pretty sick too.

[Scalamental]

Sully, count me in the Power Ranger group, I was only 10 when Paul was drafted, and it absolutely killed me to see Big Al traded. I thought the trade was terrible, and said that the only way it could be considered a good trade would be if we won a champoinship. So in retrospect, it was a great trade.

Al is still my favorite non-Celtic in the league and I love that he's playing great in Minny. It's going to hurt in a few years though when he's dominating the league and KG is retired with his number hanging in the rafters, but at least it will have 1 or possibly more new championship banners hanging next to it.

This man speaks for me as well.

[Tricky Ricky]

Much like I said the entire time he was here Al isn't really becoming a top 5 PF he is becoming a top 5 center. The only question with Al is health and if he will round into an effective defender. Early on this season he is at least even on net PER and more importantly the team is significantly better on defense when he is on the court as opposed to last year.

Also I don't know who the people you are talking about Tricky are but a majority hated this trade when it happened. There wasn't but a handful of posters who didn't think Al would be an All Star caliber big man. The key was they though he would be better than KG at this point and offensively he may be, we now know what else KG brings to the table. I loved the deal but I am just a psycho Celtics fan in his 30's who loved KG and Pierce and wanted them to win a championship. If you were watching Power Rangers when PP was at Kansas I can see why you thought the deal sucked.

The tough part is that Gomes and Al are just awful together defensively and Ryan is getting lit up at the 4 with Al at the 5. The Wolves are just in the same position that we were a couple of years ago collecting assets to try and make a bigger move but they are a collection of assets more than building blocks of a team I don't see a lot of the pieces really fitting together on both ends of the court. That said Love looks pretty good.

Im talking more about the national media and people who say when is Mchale getting a ring? I remember people on this board hating this trade which I still dont understand, Al could become Michael Jordan and I would love it as much as the day it happened.

[Rocky5000]

Yeah, Minnesota neesd to do something about their defense. Telfair played 30 minutes and it doesn't look like he's much better defensively. 55 points for Tony Parker, and 26 points for Roger Mason?! The Backcourt defense needs A LOT of work. And Big Al gave up 30 to TD. It's was an 2OT game but still, stop one of those three guys and they've got the win - easily.

[campybatman]

But, Jefferson is playing center for Minnesota. It's like small-ball with him playing out-of-position. Actually, Gomes starts at power forward.

[sully00]

We have to win two Championships in my eyes for this to have been worth it especially seeing Al's game from 15-18 ft and watching him drop 30 (while giving up 30) on TD. I was always up and down on Al because of the defense and consistency but I think if they could get him a Tyson Chandler or some modern day Theo Ratliff he could do well enough on defense to win a championship. I watch both of them a lot and I love Amare but Al is probably a better defender at the Center spot than him. But as much as I love Gomes and really like Love's game I don't see a young Theo Ratliff in those two.

[BillessuR6]

I was quite impressed with Jefferson`s defense on Duncan at the end of the game. He looked solid one on one.

[GuyClinch]

C's got their championship. You have to trade something to get a future HOF player. I think scorer/rebounder types at center can be overrated - because normally the center postion is so key defensively.. But Al really can score and rebound.

[Datruth345]

i like a few others have said
love Al Jefferson, i love everything about him
he is my favorite non Celtic and i check his boxscore basically everynight
drafted him first in my fantasy leagues and all that

but i wanted to trade him for kg and i am sooo glad we traded for KG, that has been successful at the utmost level, a championship, and that lasts forever