Aldrige or Jefferson?

[PPAW4Life]

Lamarcus reminds me more of David West, cept West is a better rebounder.

I'd take Big Al too, but I really like Aldridge and West's games too.

[sully00]

I went with Aldridge for a couple of reasons that people are just blowing by. Al is a great low post scorer and rebounder and while those are rare assets they alone tend to be his assets he isn't a great fit at the 4 or 5. With Aldridge's athletic ability and length and his ability to add strength without losing that he is a better fit at either position than Al. He is a better defender, ball handler, passer, more athletic, more skilled, with better size. He has more range, runs the floor better, Aldridge is much more the total package.

Al is superior on the blocks but Aldridge has improved quite a bit this season and Al doesn't have his range. While Al has great moves in the post Aldridge has great footwork 10-15 ft from the hoop. Even at that Aldridge is shooting the ball better from the field and the FT line.

In the end Al is more cut out to be a teams number one offensive option while Aldridge will excel in a situation like he is in now were he can be the man but can also contribute in other ways.

I would like to compare Al to a guy like Karl Malone, but he just lacks the passing skills at this point, though it could come. Aldridge reminds me a lot of the Chief which is probably why I like him so much, doesn't have the bulk of a lot of centers but doesn't seem to be getting muscled like he did a year or two ago.

I guess if it was about one guy Al would have the fat stats and maybe even be able to take it to him a bit one on one but as we are seeing it takes more than one guy in that senario I think that Aldridge, as he is doing in POR right now, brings more to a winning situation were Al is more a guy you have to look to build around.

[BOSsportsfan34]

I just wanted to ask this to everyone.
If we traded for Ray and kept Al, how good would we be right now?
Would we be much worse because of Al's defense?

I've seen this question a lot on other boards. What I haven't seen is this question: If the C's had traded for Ray but not KG, would Posey and House have signed here? I don't think that would've happened. You would've then had a lineup of ...

Pierce, Ray, Perk, Al, Rondo as starters with..

Gomes, Telfair, Davis, Scal as main subs.

IMHO that is probably around a 45-win team that probably doesn't get past the 2nd round.

[Spin Move]

Aldridge is not super soft, but he aint tough, and he aint a banger like Al, he has a nice skill set, but hes not gonna be a superstar. He could turn into an all star but not near the level of jefferson.

If you can choose between the jump shooter and the post player you take the post player, they are the same age (less then 6 months apart) its not like Al is not going to keep getting better.

[drza]

I agree with the guy who said that Aldridge has physical gifts (height, length, speed) that give him much higher defensive potential than Al has. Al will probably always be the better offensive option, but I think Aldridge could develop into a 20 ppg player at the 4. I don't think either of them will ever be the best player on a contender, but as the second best player that can play off of a star, I think each could find success.

[Spykes]

Even as a Blazer fan, it's hard to argue that (in terms of overall talent) Aldridge is better than Jefferson. Al has a better post moves and is a WAY better rebounder (something Aldridge needs to work on). However, Al has 2 more years of NBA experience and is asked to carry his team as a #1 option, so it pretty obvious why Al's stats eclipse Aldridge's.

That said, I'm plenty happy with having Aldridge over Al in Portland. As much as Boston fans have hated this comparison, Al just reminds me to much of Randolph (all be it a better version of him). Plus, I've always liked taller PF's anyhow.

[BillessuR6]

Well, Al is 6-10 and Aldrige is 6-11 so I don`t know why hight is an issue.

I would definitely take Jeferson here since he is the best young post player in the league. His is also superior rebounder, so I expect him to have a better career than Aldrige.

I really don`t see the comparison to Randolph with Al since their offensive game is totaly different...

[Celtics_85]

I'll take both these guys to start my team. these guys actually compliment eachother real well if they played together.

[SuperDeluxe]

Wow, I love Big Al but Aldridge is also very solid. Tough call... I'm not voting.

[Man_Up]

I'll be shocked if Aldridge (in his career) becomes better than Al is this season.

[34Celtic]

Oh man, we could have Roy and Big Al on the same team in Boston.

But instead we're stuck with Ray Allen and KG....oh well.

[Tiggo Bitties]

Jefferson is the better rebounder but Aldridge is better on D overall.

With that said, even as a Blazer fan, I'd go with Jefferson but it's close. What I want to see is Jefferson's play raise his entire team. Here in Portland we've seen a 20-10 PF before on bad teams and definitely prefer our current 18-8 PF on this good team.

So time will tell but yea... Jefferson is a beast and Id go with him until/unless he proves he cant help a team win which we wont know for another couple years.

[Tiggo Bitties]

Also want to add that I think Aldridge will be a better fit with Oden than Jefferson would be but obviously that's an individual team situation. Most teams dont have a potentially dominate defensive center waiting in the wings. For most teams Jefferson and his post scoring would be best.

I also think that if you replace Jefferson with Aldridge on the Wolves, their just as bad or worse. And if you replace LMA with Jefferson on the Blazers we probably arent as good as I dont think Jefferson would mesh with this team as well.

In the end it depends on the team. If I was a Boston fan I'd rather have Jefferson on your current team since I think he'd fit better with KG.