According to Mike McGraw, Aldridge wants the Bulls

[jc23]

^^^Kind of comes off as a dick imo. Im definitely not trading Noah for him now.

[IWannaGoHIGHER]

Wow that sounds like a guy that really doesn't want to be there. If he's really that vocal about it you know his value is only going to go down the next few years from a Blazers standpoint because he defiantly won't sign an extension. I'm trying not to get my hopes up but it's getting harder and harder not to ....

[red222]

Boom.

LaMarcus Aldridge has wanted out of Portland since the last week of the Trail Blazers' season and did not resign sponsorship deals in Portland this past year, including agreements with Cadillac, Chevy, and Providence Hospital while asking to get out of a lease on his Pearl District condo.

Aldridge tried to put a clause into his lease that he will not have to pay penalties if he was traded.

“This is why I hate being in Portland,’’ Aldridge said during the last week of the season. “You can’t do anything.’’

According to the report, Aldridge would not only welcome a trade from the Blazers, but he hopes for one, believing the city is too boring and small.

Neil Olshey said he sympathized with the constant change Aldridge has gone through with the Blazers, but the GM was adamant he would not be shopping the All-Star forward.

“Well, I’ll tell you this: I’m not going to be making any phone calls to move him,’’ Olshey said. “But if the phone rings and it makes the team better ...’’

http://www.oregonlive.com/beavers/index ... out_sports

[nomorezorro]

Jason Terry and then Chandler

i guess terry was more important in actually winning in the finals, but chandler being such a significant piece of what became a title team is indicative of noah's potential presence as a 2 or 2a player on a Real Contender (and i think that noah is a much, much more capable offensive player than chandler)

it just seems like there's not a real tangible upgrade in going from noah to lamarcus as your second best player; you're just getting a more prototypical guy. unless you're getting a real top-tier guy (and i would say love is about the cutoff point for this), the way for the team to take a step forward is to bundle assets below noah so your second best player becomes your third best player

[kulaz3000]

Boom.

LaMarcus Aldridge has wanted out of Portland since the last week of the Trail Blazers' season and did not resign sponsorship deals in Portland this past year, including agreements with Cadillac, Chevy, and Providence Hospital while asking to get out of a lease on his Pearl District condo.

Aldridge tried to put a clause into his lease that he will not have to pay penalties if he was traded.

“This is why I hate being in Portland,’’ Aldridge said during the last week of the season. “You can’t do anything.’’

According to the report, Aldridge would not only welcome a trade from the Blazers, but he hopes for one, believing the city is too boring and small.

Neil Olshey said he sympathized with the constant change Aldridge has gone through with the Blazers, but the GM was adamant he would not be shopping the All-Star forward.

“Well, I’ll tell you this: I’m not going to be making any phone calls to move him,’’ Olshey said. “But if the phone rings and it makes the team better ...’’

You know what, disregarding the fact that I'd love for him to be on the Bulls but basketball aside, if he disliked being in Portland so much, then why did he sign an extension to stay there? It's just stupid. It's not like he was forced to be there beyond his rookie contract if he chose not to, so to talk crap about the city is just a lame excuse. The city didn't start shrinking as he was living there, it's been the same way since his rookie season.

Man up, LaMarcus - stop being so freaking lame.

[JohnnyKILLroy]

^^^Kind of comes off as a dick imo. Im definitely not trading Noah for him now.

So was Rodman that worked out alright....

[bullslas]

Stop Bashing Aldridge, he's doing his part to get out now that he knows he's wanted by Rose and the Bulls.

[Polynice4Pippen]

Aldridge hasn't really shown that he has an offensive game built for the playoffs. In 18 playoff games he's averaged 18 points and 6 rebounds on 46% shooting.

By comparison Boozer has a career playoff average of 18 points and 11 rebounds on 49% shooting.

Edit -- Sorry just realized I was looking at Aldridge's per 36 playoff averages. His actual numbers are 20 and 7 in 40 minutes. Boozer's numbers are also reflected in per 36 which is also his career average.

I'd love to see Aldridge play a playoff series alongside Derrick and see what happens, how much more space and better opportunities he has to work with. Also, he would destroy Miami's front court.

I would too, but don't forget that he played with a prime Brandon Roy and also had Andre Miller there at one point.

Those guys are nice, but they're no Derrick Rose. Then add a great passing big man like Joakim. Just hope we get to see it.

[RSP83]

I would love to have Aldridge on this team but not at the expense of losing Noah. Jo is a very unique player in this league and I'm not sure if we'd be the same team without him. Replacing Noah with Aldridge would make us a better team? maybe; but how much better? good enough to beat the Heat and win it all? unlikely.

If there's anything I learn from watching the Finals, it's that you can't count on second tier PF like Bosh (I'd put Aldridge in the same category) to always produce as much as you want them to be; you can't count them to score 20 every night, or grab double digit rebounds every night. At the highest stage like the Finals it's becoming more of about how teams can counter and exploit different mismatches. And to do that we need as much versatility as possible and that's something where Noah is a plus. I imagine our front court with Aldridge, Taj and Boozer will be very one dimensional, especially when we need to add that extra something during a game to win or turn things around. Aldridge just don't strike me as a player capable of being a game changer; Noah on the other hand with his versatility gives us more possibilities during the game. But, put Aldridge and Noah together on 1 team that opens up even much greater possibilities. I'm sure this is obvious but this is also why this opportunity is MASSIVE and should not be left cold. The pair of Diaw and Duncan gave Heat a lot of trouble during the Finals, I think Noah and Aldridge pair can have similar impact. GarPax NEED to explore all options to pair Noah and Aldridge.

Deng, Gibson, Boozer, Rip, Hinrich, Teague, Mirotic, Cats pick, this years 1st and 2nd round picks, all should be expandable. I'll even consider throwing Butler into the mix since his value is at its highest right now; but of course I'd much rather keep him if possible. The Bulls most likely will need another trading partner to make this happen. GarPax needs to try their best to figure this out.

Let's start a mini rebuilding, and let's start here:
PG: Rose (24 years old)
SG: ?
SF: Butler (23 years old)
PF: Aldridge (27 years old)
C: Noah (28 years old)

That's about $45-48 mil allocated to our core (Jimmy on rookie contract)

[LCMJ]

Aldridge will be a Bull by the beginning of the season.

[kingkirk]

Im not even sure where to put this following comment, but i have no idea on how to keep up with this Aldridge stuff, or any Deng movements, Robinson etc.

It seems the Bulls name is being thrown around a bit, but im not sure how much of myself i should commit into these rumours.

Im not sure if i like those Aldridge comments about Portland either.

Get out of there, but don't be a chump.

[kulaz3000]

Aldridge will be a Bull by the beginning of the season.

I'll always appreciate you as an enthusiastic Bulls fan, but with that statement right there, and your track record for predictions, I'm just going to go out and say that the Bulls will not be getting Aldridge.

[Darius Miles Davis]

That was the kind of preemptive article that makes the player look kinda bad in case they do trade him tomorrow...softening the blow for Portland fans.

i think Portland's an awesome city, so I can't go with you there LMA.

[jc23]

^^^Kind of comes off as a dick imo. Im definitely not trading Noah for him now.

So was Rodman that worked out alright....

I see what your saying but Dennis is a bad example. At least from my memory i dont remember him wanting out of San Antonio because it was too boring. In fact i think SA just wanted him and his shoe removal self gone

At the very least i think it lowers his trade value some. Which is good.

[nomorezorro]

i think there are two good quotes from olshey in that article. this, for the people who are mad at lamarcus for wanting out:

But if there is one thing I can say, it’s I empathize with what LaMarcus is going through. This is the fourth genesis that he has lived through: From the Jail Blazers, to a youth movement, to a bunch of aging veterans, to this. It’s not easy for him.

he signed his contract after the blazers were a top 4 team in the west with an insanely promising core. he's basically the last significant piece left from that era, and i'm sure it's hugely frustrating to have some of your prime years wasted on a retool that transformed into a rebuild. if he's getting the feeling that it's going to be a few years before the blazers Go For It, then i don't understand why he wouldn't try to get out if he doesn't have any affinity for portland itself

the other comment is this

Well, I’ll tell you this: I’m not going to be making any phone calls to move him. But if the phone rings and it makes the team better ...

which is confirmation of conventional wisdom that the blazers aren't going to dump him for unequal value when he's still under contract for 2 years. which makes it tough for the bulls, in my eyes, make a trade that actually improves the team that the blazers would bite on

[bullslas]

Again, He's saying bad things for a reason, this brings his trade value down. He really wants to be a Bull!

If somehow, we can get Alrdidge and get EG, this team will be great for a long time!

[jc23]

If only he had a PO in 14/15, then he would actually have some leverage. Right now Portland can just trade him to the team offering the most assets. At the very least said team would have two full seasons to convince him to stay.

[erlim]

which is confirmation of conventional wisdom that the blazers aren't going to dump him for unequal value when he's still under contract for 2 years. which makes it tough for the bulls, in my eyes, make a trade that actually improves the team that the blazers would bite on

I dare not say "oh crap we gotta fire sale this guy because he's alienating himself to the entire city and organization. ****, ****, panic mode."

[TheSuzerain]

Are you people really going to complain if a star scumbags his way to Chicago? Really?

[red222]

Are you people really going to complain if a star scumbags his way to Chicago? Really?

+10