LaMarcus Aldridge Wants Chicago Part 2

[ryan44]

Is LMA a free agent next year?

No. He has two years left on his contract.

[mhsiao]

No he didn't, not even close.

WHAT

Taj and Asik finished every game, please back me up bulls board.

Tre is correct. You are not.

You don't really think Taj and Asik finished every game do you? Come on now.

Ya.. it is usually Noah + Taj to finish the game. Asik only finish the game when Noah play like crap after return from injury.

[Bullflip]

And this rebuts the fact that LMA has about as much post game as Boozer how?

I am just showing LMA would be much more dependable than Noah, because Noah can't even play healthy in the postseason to begin with. You can start Taj Gibson with LMA, and have Boozer come off the bench.

Alright, but that's a separate argument. The initial statement was that the Bulls needed a low-post scorer. It was then pointed out that LMA operates from the post about as often as Boozer, and might even be a worse finisher at the rim. Health wasn't a part of the initial argument, it was entirely about low post presence.

LMA is not a worse finisher at the rim. This is false. Here are his shot percentages at the rim in the last 3 years:

2013: 71.2% (49.8% assisted)
2012: 68.2% (53.4% assisted)
2011: 67.7% (58.5% assisted)

Here is Boozer's

2013: 69.5% (63.8% assisted)
2012: 68.1% (73.4% assisted)
2011: 66.6% (67.1% assisted)

So as you can see from the data taken from Hoopdata, while they have about similar % at the rim, Boozer's points at the rim have a higher percentage of being assisted. Aldridge, with the lower % of assisted, shows he can be more of a low-post threat more than Boozer.

[RSP83]

You can make all the efficiency or stat comparison arguments you want between Aldridge and other players. But the reality of the matter is that you need guys who can step up in crunch time and get you a bucket. Boozer and Noah are simply not reliable enough to do that. This is about the playoffs, not games against the Bobcats in January. Aldridge is a guy who you can throw the ball to in the 4th quarter against the Heat and expect to get a quality look. It's about being able to score in the half court, being able to make tough shots. I've truly seen enough of Boozer's disappearing act. Noah is GREAT at what he does, don't get me wrong, but teams are still giving up that tornado all day long. 40% shooting just isn't gonna get it done. The Bulls have to think long and hard about this. Maybe try to hold onto Butler and substitute picks, but let's not regret not making this move once we get to the playoffs and we're pining for more scoring yet again.

The bolded part. How much better do you think Aldridge compare to Bosh? I put them on the same level. I saw Bosh not able to deliver much offensively in the Finals as a third option. Now, I'm not saying that Aldridge will turn out the same way, but even if Aldridge can give us better offense than Bosh did for Miami in Big Game situation, will his offense be enough to put us over the top? I'm just not sure that we get better by adding Aldridge's offensive capability but at the same time losing a pretty significant amount of leadership, defense and versatility if Noah is traded.

Noah and Aldridge should be paired, not traded for each other.

[Red Larrivee]

Trade Deng for LMA and its easy to see how we can win a chip:

Convince Portland.

That's the issue. Everyone's so gung ho about dealing Deng now, but his value doesn't look to be as high to anchor a deal for someone like Aldridge. Noah is the Bulls best non-Rose asset. Teams see that and they want him, if it means giving up their best player.

[TBpup]

Noah is very good at what he does (defense, rebounding, intensity) and Aldridge is very good at what he does (scoring, creating space for teammates and defending without being a great shot-blocker).

The reason Portland is asking for more than Noah is because of the following as much as anything:

2012-13: 16 games missed
2010-11: 34 games missed
2009-10: 18 games missed

Aldridge has played in 74 games or more in all but his rookie season (and of course the strike season). Noah has admitted foot problems that just don't tend to get better with age and miles. People have talked about LA's lack of rebounding but he has often played opposite of another volume rebounder like JJ Hickson 10+ last year, and 8+ the year before, Camby also averaged 8.9 that season and 10+ the year before. The year before that Camby got 10.9 and Przybilla 7.9 and so on.

That is not to discount Noah at all who is the much better shot-blocker and passer. Aldridge however is someone you can go to at the end of games, to force double-teams, to create easier shots for teammates etc. Rose is amazing and would only be better opposite someone who commanded the type of attention he does on a nightly basis. His games against the Bulls and the Heat (two of the better defensive teams in the league) are things of offensive brilliance at times. His advanced stats on defense are very good even though he doesn't block a lot of shots.

This is not to advocate a trade, just a little insight into Aldridge from someone who sees him play on a nightly basis.

[mhsiao]

WHAT

Taj and Asik finished every game, please back me up bulls board.

Tre is correct. You are not.

You don't really think Taj and Asik finished every game do you? Come on now.

Asik finished more games than Noah.

Do you not remember, it was one of the biggest storylines of the season, we were paying Noah and Booz to finish on the bench.

Come on.

It is biggest storyline because it was playoff against and Noah play like crap after return from ankle injury.

[musiqsoulchild]

So what's the problem with that lineup?

You have deficits in the froncourt. Additionally, Skiles D was based on wings....but Thibs D is based on big men.

How is that happening here? We are not going to win a championship without insane D. We have to add scoring to it. LMA helps, but not at Noah's expense. Trade Deng for LMA and its easy to see how we can win a chip:

Rose
Butler
Dunleavy
Aldridge
Noah

Again, I am only using closing lineups...not most minute lineups.

Doesn't ditching Boozer's bum defense and adding Taj come close to making up for the clear, but not drastic defensive downgrade from Noah to Aldridge?

And that leaves you with a Top 3 frontcourt of LMA/Boozer/Taj. Bad juju.

Contrast that to LMA/Noah/Taj or the hypothetical LMA /Asik/Taj. These are much more balanced frontcourts.

Boozer works today because of Noah. LMA cant cover that much.

[Midway Bully]

WHAT

Taj and Asik finished every game, please back me up bulls board.

Tre is correct. You are not.

You don't really think Taj and Asik finished every game do you? Come on now.

Asik finished more games than Noah.

Do you not remember, it was one of the biggest storylines of the season, we were paying Noah and Booz to finish on the bench.

Come on.

IIRC, that was in the playoffs, due to both of them battling injuries.

[Jimmy Forums]

So what's the problem with that lineup?

LMA at the 5. Let's not get crazy here. We could use this lineup, yes, but this would never pass as the lineup.

Noah is a half inch taller than Aldridge. It's not as crazy as it sounds. How many teams actually have a legitimate center you have to worry about? The Heat don't use a traditional lineup. And you replace the lost defense with Taj.

Also, handling the Boozer situation? Amnesty him.

I'm not prepared to say I'd deploy Aldridge as center against most teams, but LMA-Bosh would be a pretty fair matchup.

Our allowing that matchup, however, would represent a shift from the grit and defense, and more -- not all the way -- but more, towards a pretty skillful team. If we don't have the frontcourt to abuse the Heat, do we have the talent to out-skill them? As of now....nah.

That's why we have to do our best to keep Noah. Run LMA and Noah out there, and we've still got the identity we do know, but with an [i]injection[/i of talent and skill.

[red222]

Noah is very good at what he does (defense, rebounding, intensity) and Aldridge is very good at what he does (scoring, creating space for teammates and defending without being a great shot-blocker).

The reason Portland is asking for more than Noah is because of the following as much as anything:

2012-13: 16 games missed
2010-11: 34 games missed
2009-10: 18 games missed

Aldridge has played in 74 games or more in all but his rookie season (and of course the strike season). Noah has admitted foot problems that just don't tend to get better with age and miles. People have talked about LA's lack of rebounding but he has often played opposite of another volume rebounder like JJ Hickson 10+ last year, and 8+ the year before, Camby also averaged 8.9 that season and 10+ the year before. The year before that Camby got 10.9 and Przybilla 7.9 and so on.

That is not to discount Noah at all who is the much better shot-blocker and passer. Aldridge however is someone you can go to at the end of games, to force double-teams, to create easier shots for teammates etc. Rose is amazing and would only be better opposite someone who commanded the type of attention he does on a nightly basis. His games against the Bulls and the Heat (two of the better defensive teams in the league) are things of offensive brilliance at times. His advanced stats on defense are very good even though he doesn't block a lot of shots.

This is not to advocate a trade, just a little insight into Aldridge from someone who sees him play on a nightly basis.

No new news?

[bullsnewdynasty]

You can make all the efficiency or stat comparison arguments you want between Aldridge and other players. But the reality of the matter is that you need guys who can step up in crunch time and get you a bucket. Boozer and Noah are simply not reliable enough to do that. This is about the playoffs, not games against the Bobcats in January. Aldridge is a guy who you can throw the ball to in the 4th quarter against the Heat and expect to get a quality look. It's about being able to score in the half court, being able to make tough shots. I've truly seen enough of Boozer's disappearing act. Noah is GREAT at what he does, don't get me wrong, but teams are still giving up that tornado all day long. 40% shooting just isn't gonna get it done. The Bulls have to think long and hard about this. Maybe try to hold onto Butler and substitute picks, but let's not regret not making this move once we get to the playoffs and we're pining for more scoring yet again.

The bolded part. How much better do you think Aldridge compare to Bosh? I put them on the same level. I saw Bosh not able to deliver much offensively in the Finals as a third option. Now, I'm not saying that Aldridge will turn out the same way, but even if Aldridge can give us better offense than Bosh did for Miami in Big Game situation, will his offense be enough to put us over the top? I'm just not sure that we get better by adding Aldridge's offensive capability but at the same time losing a pretty significant amount of leadership, defense and versatility if Noah is traded.

Noah and Aldridge should be paired, not traded for each other.

The problem is that Bosh never gets the ball. He shot 10 times a game in the playoffs.

Miami used to post Bosh in year 1 of the Heat's big 3. Spoelstra took all of that out these past 2 years. All his shots these days are spot ups off of penetration.

[kyrv]

WHAT

Taj and Asik finished every game, please back me up bulls board.

Tre is correct. You are not.

You don't really think Taj and Asik finished every game do you? Come on now.

Asik finished more games than Noah.

Do you not remember, it was one of the biggest storylines of the season, we were paying Noah and Booz to finish on the bench.

Come on.

Let's review, you said:

"Taj and Asik finished every game, please back me up bulls board."

That's wrong. I can't back you up. It's not correct.

You asked for input, you got correct input.

[bullsnewdynasty]

You have deficits in the froncourt. Additionally, Skiles D was based on wings....but Thibs D is based on big men.

How is that happening here? We are not going to win a championship without insane D. We have to add scoring to it. LMA helps, but not at Noah's expense. Trade Deng for LMA and its easy to see how we can win a chip:

Rose
Butler
Dunleavy
Aldridge
Noah

Again, I am only using closing lineups...not most minute lineups.

Doesn't ditching Boozer's bum defense and adding Taj come close to making up for the clear, but not drastic defensive downgrade from Noah to Aldridge?

And that leaves you with a Top 3 frontcourt of LMA/Boozer/Taj. Bad juju.

Contrast that to LMA/Noah/Taj or the hypothetical LMA /Asik/Taj. These are much more balanced frontcourts.

Boozer works today because of Noah. LMA cant cover that much.

Obviously LMA/Noah/Taj is preferable, but we've got to live in reality.

[OldSchoolNoBull]

I think it is foolish to pretend that this is an easy decision either way - that's in easy decision to trade Noah for LMA or an easy decision to not trade Noah for LMA. If GarPax does this, it will likely one of the more agonizing moves they make. Think about what it must be like to be them right now. They're likely having all the same debates we're having, except they're also the ones in the chair, they're also the ones who will own the responsibility, the credit or the blame.

I hate the idea of trading Noah. Hate it. Refused to include him for Melo. Was hesitantly ok with trading him for Dwight at one point a year and more ago. Whether I'm in favor of trading him for LMA is entirely dependent on who the center is. LMA will not play center. Nor should he. He's a PF.

I wonder if Dallas would S&T Kaman to us for future 1sts, and if Kaman would play for 5M to be a starter on a title contender? I'm thinking of the TPE here.

Kaman/Brand or J.O'Neal(vet min)/Nazr
Aldridge/Taj/Murphy
Deng/Dunleavy
Jimmy/Snell
Rose/Hinrich/Teague

I don't know. It's just a very difficult decision.

[musiqsoulchild]

Trade Deng for LMA and its easy to see how we can win a chip:

Convince Portland.

That's the issue. Everyone's so gung ho about dealing Deng now, but his value doesn't look to be as high to anchor a deal for someone like Aldridge. Noah is the Bulls best non-Rose asset. Teams see that and they want him, if it means giving up their best player.

Portlands not gonna do it.

There is one particular situation in which I am OK with swapping LMA for Noah. We sign Zaza Pachulia AND Elton Brand to vet minimums. And then we amnesty Boozer.

Frontcourt:

PF: LMA (24) / Taj (16) / Brand (6)
C : Zaza (26) / LMA (14) / Committe of Nazr, Taj, Brand (8)

Thats a crowded but necessary frontcourt in order to retain Chicago defense while adding championship style offense.

[CalilLove89]

Tre is correct. You are not.

You don't really think Taj and Asik finished every game do you? Come on now.

Asik finished more games than Noah.

Do you not remember, it was one of the biggest storylines of the season, we were paying Noah and Booz to finish on the bench.

Come on.

Let's review, you said:

"Taj and Asik finished every game, please back me up bulls board."

You are wrong. I can't back you up. It's not correct. I think you know it's not correct.

Are you doing that thing where rather than correct yourself, you pretend you said something else? Cuz...that's kinda neat.

You asked for input, you got correct input, why argue about it? Don't have to thank us, but come on.

Ok, Taj and Asik was thibs go to big men in tight games, that happened.

People are arguing that Noah is a lock to finish games, which is completely false.

Deng is more of a lock to finish than Noah.

[weneeda2guard]

We have the players needed to nab Aldridge without giving up Noah

Any other front office would have parted with deng Or boozer and got other assets to convince Portland

Bulls need to get on Aldridge now. Once Dwight makes his decision the teams who lost out on d12 will turn they attention to lamarcus. And this front office don't have the best track record on making block buster trades

On the other hand Houston lakers and Dallas make block buster deals in they sleep

So basically if its bulls front office vs them, we will lose

Need to lock Aldridge in very soon

[tre11408]

These rumors have to be frustrating for Thibs considering how we lost Asik. I'm sure he'd probably be on board with a Noah/Aldridge swap if we had Asik, especially since Omer was the guy getting crunch time minutes vs. the Heat in 2011.

Regular Season:

Game 1- Asik left with 9:17 left in the 4th quarter and did not return- and Noah didn't even play that game.

Game 2- Asik left with 6:38 left in the 4th quarter and did not return.

Game 3- Asik left with 6:32 left in the 4th quarter and did not return.

Playoffs:

Game 1- Asik played the final 2:14, he came in at that time because the Bulls cleared the bench when they were up by 19.

Game 2- Asik went out with 4:36 left in the game and didn't return.

Game 3- Asik didn't play at all in the 4th quarter.

Game 4- Asik only played 1:53 total, none in the 4th quarter, and he didn't play in Game 5.

Asik didn't play even one, single, solitare crunch time second against the Heat.


I've always wondered why people have to make up complete fabrications in an attempt to prove their point? Seems to me that if a person's point if valid, they don't need to lie in an effort to prove their point.

[Doom]

Where is Gortat coming from?

rofl my thoughts exactly

Free agent next year an he's making 7million dollars right now

he's just not for us. i dont like his offensive game too much, nor do i like his defense.