Agreed. With Dallas and San Antonio both in an <i>Immediate</i> mode with aging rosters, there will be an opportunity for the Rockets to dislodge those teams a few years from now. Portland spent several years as an afterthought in NBA Power Rankings and the 2008 - 2009 Season was a return from the <i>Wilderness</i> for them. <i> God grant me the serenity To accept the things I cannot change; Courage to change the things I can; And wisdom to know the difference. </i> Portland has too much momentum and money at the moment and there is no need for the Rockets (or their fans) to lose any sleep over it.
Agreed. But when the Rockets are ready to compete, they'll need an athletic, defensive minded 2/3 to shut down Brandon Roy? Interesting. Agreed on the big man rotation of Oden, Aldridge, Millsap being fine. They probably need a 4th big if they were to trade Billa, but they've got all sorts of size and talent up front.
I actually see it as Milsap starting at center, considering that the two positions are basically interchangeable nowadays. Aldridge won't be affected, but we'll see how Milsap responds. I think he should easily be able to handle the weak-sauce 5's in the league today. That guy is an absolute beast. His quickness and strength should be enough to offset the height advantage presented by clowns like Gortat, Kendrick Perkins, and Bynum. We'll see though. Aside from obviously wanting one of their young wings, I really hope we trade Shane to Portland. You hate to see a guy like that rotting away in a rebuilding effort because you know he's still going to be busting his ass just as hard as ever...except this time it will be for naught. There is nothing I would love to see more, other than the now impossible scenario of the Rockets winning the title, than Shane finally winning the battle against Kobe, except this time, with Brandon Roy destroying Ron Artest on the other end. I really, really like that team. Milsap is twice the player that Landry is with twice the upside of Scola (at their respective ages) so I don't see the quantitative comparison. $8million for Paul Milsap defies conventional market value in an age when Samuel Dalembert is making $10+million.
I'm checking out threads over at Blazersedge. Nobody seems to be talking about Aldridge playing C. They all seem to be banking on Pryzbilla or somebody else playing C along with Oden. Here is one of several threads discussing the center position: http://www.blazersedge.com/2009/7/9/943453/in-regards-to-joel-pryzbilla A_3P0, I'd be interested to hear your take on Aldridge playing extended minutes at C.
Don't view it as Aldridge always defending the opposing Center. If it is a Center that plays physical and close to the basket, then Milsap will probably spend some time there. Centers like Biedrins, Kaman, Camby, Okur, Chandler aren't considered by most to be <i>Big Bruisers</i> that would overwhelm Aldridge. Duncan is aging and often gets doubled even by the best teams. Kmart & Nene are a good but not great combo. I could continue, but there are a very limited number of <i>Big Bruisers</i> in the NBA that would overmatch Aldridge. They would only play the Cavs and Magic twice each during the regular season, so only a few instances during the season when they might have to tweak the lineup for <i>Big Bruisers</i>.
For $7 million a year, though? I am just thinking maybe they are either confident in Oden's growth or is taking away his security blanket to see what he can do. And otherwise... I think the Adridge/Millsap combo can handle most situations... and Oden/Ald./Mill is more versatile than their old 3 man rotation.
He's capable just needs to add some muscle.. Oden was a waste of a first pick they could have had Kevin Durant Could you imagine Durant on that team they would have been unstoppable.........
Nope. But we would be more than happy to trade you for another washed up, flip-flopping, grand pa poster from Blazersedge. They could even retire your name and place an * next to your juiced up number of posts.
I just think a lot of people are jumping to conclusions about how they plan to use Aldridge if they sign Millsap. I've read the arguments above as to why it could work but I just can't see it. I read several threads over at Blazersedge and they seem like a pretty well informed crowd. Not one post I found mentioned the possibility of Aldridge playing C. I would think they know their own team better than most people around here. Maybe there were discussions to this end but I didn't find any.
Uhh if I'm not mistaken, wasn't Aldridge their center for like the longest time before Oden came in the picture?
As a long time fan of the Rockets and Dream, Ralph, Moses, Yao etc..etc..etc... Do you realize how sad your post was, because of it's truth? The center position is all but dead now. DD
There was some talk that Portland was interested in bringing in Chris Wilcox. A front court of Milsap, Aldridge, Oden, and Wilcox is pretty solid.
The Center Position is all but dead in most of the NBA except for Orlando, Cleveland and maybe LA if Bynum matures...The Hybrid center is the direction most teams are going for now and in a few years 7 footers who can PLAY will be extint.
Aldridge isn't quite ready to play a full season at C at this point in his career, but he's played plenty of it so far with decent results. As he adds weight over the next few years, I bet C is where he ends up if Oden doesn't work out. Maybe the Blazers would keep Przybilla if they sign Milsap, especially if they intend on making a serious title run next year. Since his contract is reasonable, Pryzbilla is also tradeable during the season if the logjam at the big positions isn't sustainable because Oden stays healthy. People correctly compare LA to Rasheed Wallace, but he's a bigger guy and will add a few more pounds as he gets older. I know he runs the floor like a deer and plays on the perimeter a lot, but his post game improved a notch last season and probably will again. He added a noticeable amount of muscle last summer and will continue to grow. If worse came to worse, I think LA could be a starting C, but it's definitely not his preferred position. Against today's smallish Cs, he would do OK. In a few years, I think he will swing between C & PF and be a huge matchup problem for other teams.
Can they still work this into a S&T? http://www.nba.com/2009/news/07/07/salarycap.ap/index.html? Luxury Tax Threshold: $69.92M POR absorbs salaries under cap → Millsap (S&T) + Fesenko Sign Patty Mills (Wait 30 days for trade restriction to pass) Three Part Multiple Team Trade: 1.Battier + Cook + White (non-guaranteed) + rights to Taylor to POR → Przybilla + Fernandez + Batum 2.Dorsey to POR → Fesenko 3.Outlaw + Cook + Mills + Dorsey + White (waived) to UTA → Korver + Harpring Williams, Maynor, Mills Brewer Miles, Outlaw, Cook Boozer, AK47 Okur, Koufos, Dorsey + 13th player (rookie min) = $69.560377M Blake, Bayless Roy, Taylor Battier, Korver, Harpring Millsap, Pendergraph Aldridge, Oden Brooks, Lowry Fernandez, Barry, Batum Ariza, Budinger, McGrady Scola, Landry, Hayes Przybilla, Fesenko, Yao
I see no problem with Aldridge at center. The consensus here is right, we're not talking about yesterday's NBA. In today's game, there are only two centers you need to game plan for - Yao and Dwight, and Yao's status is cloudy, so it's really just Dwight for the time being.
