The Portland Trailblazers are a team in transition. A few years ago we all thought of them as the Oklahoma City Thunder before the Thunder were on the door step of an NBA title. With Brandon Roy, Greg Oden and LaMarcus Aldridge all in the fold, the Blazers were looked at as the NBA’s next up and coming franchise.
Then the wheels literally came off as various knee injuries to both Roy and Oden turned the Blazers from possible contender to second or third tier team in the Western Conference. A lot has changed since then including head coaches and general managers. One constant for the Blazers has been Aldridge however, and as new general manager Neil Olshey tells the Oregonian, Aldridge is still a center piece for the Blazers moving forward.
“I think it’s silly to say anybody is untouchable, but clearly it would take a lot to get near him. As far as I’m concerned, L.A. is the cornerstone of the franchise. In my mind, he and Nic Batum are what Chris Paul and Blake Griffin were to the Clippers. … But I can’t imagine anybody you would rather have than him right now.”
Offensively, Aldridge is probably the most polished big man in the league. He’s not the thunderous dunker Blake Griffin is and he doesn’t have the uniqueness of Kevin Love, but his all-around play makes him just as good as those two.
He’s Tim Duncan light. I’d build around him too. Portland is actually in pretty good shape this offseason as long as we can assume owner Paul Allen and his cronies don’t do too much meddling. With the sixth and 11th picks in the draft, the Blazers will be able to add most likely another big man and a point guard or shooting guard to their roster.
Thanks to the Gerald Wallace trade, they now have a ton of cap space to go get a couple of really good, young players. I think Olshey has it right when he says the Blazers are retooling and there’s an opening at the top of the Western Conference for them to make their move. Just don’t draft anymore centers. For their sake and ours.
