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LaMarcus Aldridge / Cleveland Revisited

LaMarcus Aldridge/ Cleveland Revisited

When Cleveland "ping-ponged" their way into the No. 1 pick in the 2014 draft, there were whispers of the Cavs interest in the Blazers All-Star forward. At the time, any notion of LMA for the #1 pick seemed like a lose = lose - lose proposition. The Cavs were trading the #1 pick for a star who would only help take them to the edge of the play-offs; Aldridge was about to spend some more of his career prime rebuilding a franchise; the Blazers were about to take a step back from their play-off success this past season.

But then LeBron happened. The NBA is not the same. Now that the draft is over and free agency is virtually over (But where does poor Eric Bledsoe end up?) THE burning question in the league is WHEN Cleveland trades #1 pick Andrew Wiggins to Minnesota for Kevin Love to become the 3 – headed favorites in the East. But what if the crafty Neil Olshey went way outside the box and discretely went to Cleveland to offer Aldridge to Cleveland instead?

Remember one year ago when K-Love and LaMarcus were in the same boat: both were in a position in which there small-market franchise needed to make real progress or these premier power forwards could force an exit. The Wolves flopped, while Portland brought in a big sidekick for LMA (Robin Lopez), improved dramatically, and won a dramatic play-off series. Now the discussion is whether Aldridge can become the greatest Blazer of all time. Smiles all around, even as a contract extension is delayed until next summer to maximize the dollars involved.

Proposal: Portland trades LaMarcus Aldridge to Cleveland for Andrew Wiggins.

From a Blazer perspective, there are 2 crucial questions:

  1. What is the ceiling for this Blazer team as currently constructed?

  2. Is Andrew Wiggins a transformational NBA player?

Championship Caliber? The Blazers had a successful season last year. There are various reasons to hope they could be slightly better in 2014-15: slightly better bench, Damien 3.0, continuity. Even though there appears to be contract flexibility in the future, it will disappear quickly just to hold this team together. Will Portland hit a homerun with a draft pick in the 20’s? Make a super MLE pick-up? Find that elusive Free Agent who spurns bigger markets for the Rose City? As constituted, Portland’s future looks like a Western Conference version of the Atlanta Hawks: a now perennial play-off team with limited prospects for even reaching the Conference finals, much less the Championship Series.

How good is Wiggins? From summer league, the 19 year old has shown flashes: a spin move for a dunk, a flying block of Mertens Noel, a pretty jump shot. At the same time, he cannot carry a SL team, much less a championship contender next season. Is he another OJ Mayo? Then this is a waste. In 3 years when Kobe and Wade become memories, could Wiggins become 1st or 2nd team all NBA? Could he?

How Cleveland Wins - There can be endless debates about whether Kevin Love or Aldridge or Blake Griffin are the better power forward. The bigger question is who would make the Cavs a more likely championship contender. Both are elite scorers and take down plenty of boards. Love biggest advantage is his ability to space the floor from 3, a talent that will help open up the court for LBJ. Love produces slightly numbers, but as Blazer fans learned when comparing JJ Hickson and RoLo, there are numbers and there are empty calories. LaMarcus’ big advantage is size and defense. A front line of Verajao, Aldridge and Lebron would be stifling. LMA can slide over to the 5 more naturally than Love when the Cavs go small.

In my humble opinion a core of James, Love and Irving feels like a fantasy owner’s roster, filled with gaudy stats but no substance. Irving is an abysmal defender, and while Love is earnest and gets good position, his lack of size and rim protection make him less than adequate. Only the genius of LeBron could make that roster functional. Aldridge’s size and flexibility would make the Cavs the instant contender that all the experts assume with K-Love. While the Cavs and Wolves are currently dancing around each other like it is last call and they are the only 2 left in the bar, the introduction of Aldridge into the equation could only benefit the Cavs.

How LaMarcus Wins – Suddenly he is Robin to the NBA’s current Batman. He now plays for the league’s glamour franchise. Suddenly his team is the favorite to make the finals. While LMA is content to re-sign with the Blazers, doesn’t he jump at this chance?

How Portland Wins –NBA rosters are churning faster than ever. For the next 2 years, San Antonio, Cleveland, the Clippers and Thunder have planted themselves ahead of Portland. If the Blazers can’t beat them now, how about building s crew that can ascend to the throne in 3 seasons. By removing LMA’s big contract, there is a period to add a 4/5 to a big signing. As long as Wiggins is on his first contract, the triumvirate of Wiggins, Damian Lillard and Nic Batum could be and attractive pairing for a Boogie Cousins, Andre Drummond, Kevin Love, or even (if the Pelicans flounder) Anthony Davis. Portland takes a step back now to create a monster down the road.

Things are so fluid this proposal may be moot within hours. Should the Blazers do this? At times like this I ask WWJWD? In much more static times a bold Jerry West traded a very valuable Vlade Divac for a youngster with an Italian background straight out of high school. The result was 15 years of Laker dominance.

Could Portland make overtures to Cleveland without alienating their franchise player? Would the risk be worth the reward? What would you do?