LaMarcus Aldridge..., TOO SOFT? Options

[72-10]

I recently sat down and really watched and read some material on Aldridge and he looks very soft and not very agile. He looks like he got pushed around quite a lot down low and that was on the college level. I also rarely saw him finishing strong and in the NBA he'd be shut down. I still like him..not saying I don't want him at all...but I am really starting to think that Roy is my personal top choice. Anyone else with some thoughts on this?

[ZoomSlowik]

If you're watching the game against LSU, that's a very bad game to use as a measuring tool. He was matched up with Glen Davis, which is a horrible matchup for him. Davis is an anomaly, LaMarcus isn't going to be matched up against 320 pound post players in the NBA.

Considering that Aldridge had a pretty good game against Shelden Williams despite his obvious need to add weight, I'm not that concerned. Chris Bosh and Amare Stoudemire aren't exactly bangers either, and they do alright. A lot of guys need to add weight and get stronger when they first enter the league. Hell, Kevin Garnett is listed at 220 pounds. I know that two of those three are athletic freaks, but Aldridge isn't exactly a stiff either.

[72-10]

Those games were not what I watched, and most of the insight of him being pushed around came from analysts in conjunction with the footage. And the idea of Amare that you bring up is exactly the problem for me...LaMarcus just doesnt look nearly athletic enough to compensate for his his being pushed around inside. If he had amazing athleticism like Amare (and no one is like that, but just as a comparison) then I would not be as worried. This is just food for thought, and maybe why we should look at Roy more.

[sport1016]

The question is whether he is a soft player or a someone who is just not strong enough now but could change

I am starting to hope the raptors (or someone who is trading up with the raptors) take aldridge so that we can just take roy and don't have to choose.

I can't imagine passing up a potential star big to address our secondary need, but I feel like Roy will be a better player overall than aldridge.

After reading Paxson's comments in that interview I really like the idea of a 3 guard rotation with gordon, roy, hinrich. It could be one of the best rotations in the league in a couple years.....

I like that paxson seems committed to giving all three good minutes, though i don't know where duhon comes out in all of this. I would guess that he stays and plays like 20 mpg the first month and slowly sees his PG minutes cut back as Roy gets accustomed. And you know skiles wouldn;'t hesitate to put hinrich and duhon out there together for stretches.

1st month or two
Player PG SG
Hinrich 28 mins 5 mins
Gordon 30 mins
Roy 5mins 13mins
Duhon 15mins

[SoxFan1]

If the Raps take Aldridge, I'd want Bargnani.

[ZoomSlowik]

Those games were not what I watched, and most of the insight of him being pushed around came from analysts in conjunction with the footage. And the idea of Amare that you bring up is exactly the problem for me...LaMarcus just doesnt look nearly athletic enough to compensate for his his being pushed around inside. If he had amazing athleticism like Amare (and no one is like that, but just as a comparison) then I would not be as worried. This is just food for thought, and maybe why we should look at Roy more.

Not many are as athletic as Amare, but Aldridge is more athletic than most guys his size. He's longer than a lot of these guys as well. He's a legit 6'11" in shoes and has a monster wingspan. He's really not that different from Bosh, which is one of the most common comparisons. His biggest asset is his polish at this stage. He's more advanced offensively than a lot of guys already in the pros.

I just don't see it as that big a concern. He's already 234 pounds, which is respectable. Dwight Howard only has about 6 pounds on him, and he's a domiant force. If he adds about 10 pounds and gets in the weight room he'll be fine. He's nowhere near as big a concern as Thomas.

[72-10]

I agree. Aldridge is much more ready than Thomas and I would take him over Thomas in the draft. I guess what my question is is would you rather take Roy at 2 and deal with the big man at 16 or free agency OR take Aldridge at 2 and deal with the guard at 16 or free agency? I feel more like we should lean toward the situation with Roy at 2, etc...this is of unless of course there are some nice trades out there for us.

[sport1016]

This is tough bc big man is more of a need, but if we think we could get NENE or maybe chris wilcox, then i think roy at #2 is the way to go.

If pax really wants a 3 guard rotation, he'll have to find a tall combo guard in free agency or via trade if we can't get Roy or Brewer.

Combo guards are aplenty, but one that is at least 6'5 that plays good D is quite the commodity. Besides Larry Hughes, most combo guards are 6'3 or less like Jason Terry and Steve Francis.

[madisonsmadhouse]

Aldridge is not soft. He is light for his postition, but he is not soft.

[Chisoxfn]

I'm really starting to like the idea of Roy with our 1st pick and Simmons at 16. Simmons is strong, big and kind of reminds me a bit of Dwight Howard (his build).

I think he could be a pretty good pickup, especially once he gets in a pro offense.

[sport1016]

I'm really starting to like the idea of Roy with our 1st pick and Simmons at 16. Simmons is strong, big and kind of reminds me a bit of Dwight Howard (his build).

I think he could be a pretty good pickup, especially once he gets in a pro offense.

Agreed. I hear he is Tyrus with size and offense. Isn't that what we wanted all along?

[ZoomSlowik]

I'm really starting to like the idea of Roy with our 1st pick and Simmons at 16. Simmons is strong, big and kind of reminds me a bit of Dwight Howard (his build).

I think he could be a pretty good pickup, especially once he gets in a pro offense.

Simmons at 16 would be sweet, but it's starting to sound like he might not be there. If that were to happen, we'd have problems. The rest of the big men aren't as solid, although getting Nene or Wilcox would help.

[ZoomSlowik]

This is tough bc big man is more of a need, but if we think we could get NENE or maybe chris wilcox, then i think roy at #2 is the way to go.

If pax really wants a 3 guard rotation, he'll have to find a tall combo guard in free agency or via trade if we can't get Roy or Brewer.

Combo guards are aplenty, but one that is at least 6'5 that plays good D is quite the commodity. Besides Larry Hughes, most combo guards are 6'3 or less like Jason Terry and Steve Francis.

I don't see a 3-guard lineup being a very good idea given our strength at SF, especially when Roy would be our only guard over 6'3". One can only use so many perimeter players. That would mean that Deng and Nocioni would have to guard post players regularly, which is a recipe for disaster. We'd be creating some serious matchup problems in the post, and any bigger SF's and SG's could have a field day posting up Gordon and Roy.

You can rotate the guards, but having 4 pure perimeter players doesn't work to well unless you have several bigger athletic wings like Phoenix (even then it doesn't work as well against better teams).

[madisonsmadhouse]

Agreed. I hear he is Tyrus with size and offense. Isn't that what we wanted all along?

If he was that good, he wouldn't be projected at the bottom of the first round FWIW.

[ZoomSlowik]

If he was that good, he wouldn't be projected at the bottom of the first round FWIW.

First, he's projected to go more in the middle of the first. I've seen him as high as #13 to Philly I think.

Second, Simmons played in a horrible offense for big men in college, which limits his numbers, as opposed to Thomas who basically ran around dunking. Switch the teams they played on and their draft stocks are drastically different. Simmons would probably be a top-10 lock, while Thomas might slide to the late first round because that offense would expose his weaknesses.

Third, he didn't test that much differently than Thomas. Tyrus has a few more inches on his vertical and had a little better straight line speed, but Simmons almost doubled his bench numbers and was about .3 of a second quicker in the agility test. The aggregate ranking thing for the tests that they came up with had Simmons ranked 20th and Thomas 21st. He's also a full inch taller.

The hype on Thomas has been absolutely ridiculous, which skews how good he actually is. In a stronger draft there's no way Thomas is a top 5 pick. It happens every year, and someone is probably going to be very unhappy down the road.