deanwoof

Assuming Zach Randolph isn't dealt this summer and is set to start on Opening Night. Zach's got another 4-5 years left on his contract. Soooooo... with that being said:

How will ZBo respond to the #2 pick essentially being his main backup?

* Will he be motivated/scared of the fact that Aldridge COULD end up taking his spot and making him expendible so he reverts back to the GOOD Zach Randolph of old and average 20 and 10 again and thus making the Blazers give up on Aldridge?

* Or will he give up and think "Hey, Aldridge is going to be the future of this franchise and not me, so I'm not going to care, get even lazier, and basicaly just earn my $80M contract for the next 5 years simply by just showing up"?

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I personally wouldn't mind seeing Zbo get back into near All-Star caliber. But at the same time, I really would rather have Aldridge be the PF for the next 10 years and not have Zach be around here more than a year.

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wastro

Option #2 seems more likely.

tobybennett

I don't think anyone would mind Randolph returning to all-star form. We would get a lot more trade value for him, or if Aldridge and Zbo can coexist we would have a pretty sick frontcourt.

Blazer Freak

Aldridge could play the 5 right now, but after adding 15-25 pounds will be able to play it full time. No need to worry about who is starting. LaMarcus can get 15-20mpg off the bench this year, and maybe even get starter minutes next year.

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mook

I've never really agreed with the notion that Randolph is or ever was lazy. Recovering from injury, swamped by double and triple teams, demoralized by losing--seems to me there's enough reasons for Zach to fail without ascribing personal moral failings to the heap.

Foulzilla

Yeah, damn that lazy *******. Coming off a surgery that has proven near career ending for a number of players in the past. How dare his numbers drop off a bit.

Zach has his flaws, but lazy is not one that I would attribute to him.

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"If push came to shove, I could lose all self-respect & become a reporter."
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cimalee

they can play toeghter like sheed and zach did

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But it's not about how hard you hit, it's about how hard you get hit and keep moving forward

Reep

I think he will not think much of Aldridge because of his rookie-ness and slight build. I'm pretty sure Zach will take it to LM hard in practice. Zach will also think "my outside shot is better than his."

My main hope is that the practices become more competitive and Zach learns how to score on a shot blocker. Maybe also Zach gets motivated to be better, like all the young guns are trying to do.

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01000111 01101111 00100000 01000010 01101100 01100001 01111010 01100101 01110010 01110011

There are 10 types of people in the world: Those who understand binary, and those who don't.

Fork

Exactly.

First of all, lazy people don't make it to the NBA.

Second, people as relatively unathletic as Zach Randolph DEFINITELY don't make it to the NBA if they're lazy.

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ebott

I'm aware that I'm repeating what others have already said. But basically knowing that Aldridge is there on the bench behind him isn't going to affect Zach at all.

Maybe in a few years when Zach isn't kicking LaMarcus' *** all over the court in practice then maybe Zach might look over his shoulder. Or if Zach gets yanked after jacking up a couple threes and not doing anything on defense, that might make him look over his shoulder.

The point is that Zach >>>> LaMarcus is true until proven otherwise. Zach was there to see how little LaMarcus did during summer league. That being the case if Zach is going to be a douche bag then a kid like Aldridge isn't gonna stop him from doing so.

What I think might motivate Zach is if LaMarcus does well and helps us win some games. Zach's big problem last season was the the team let guys like Sabas, Damon, S.A-R. and NVE walk without getting anything in return, thus guaranteeing that our team would suck hard this year. The only negative comment he made was when he said We Need Help!! last season. If LaMarcus can provide some of that help maybe it brings Zach out of the deep dark dispare that the front office's tanking has put him in.

mgb

Ya, I think most likely Zach will try to help Aldridge. I'm sure he's happy another talented player has been added to the team.

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Michael



"Happiness is not a station you arrive at, but a manner of traveling."
-Margaret Lee Runbeck

"Science is built with facts as a house is with stones--but a collection of facts is no more a science than a heap of stones is a house."
-Jules Henri Poincare (1854-1912)

"When I do good, I feel good; when I do bad, I feel bad. That's my religion."
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Anonymous Gambler

I think the better question is how will Brandon Roy affect both Miles and Randolph. I think it will be in a positive way- they will be happy to see another talent. They will be happy that we are on our way back to winning.

I think it's hard to play for a losing team and that winning a bit more will cure a lot of "character" problems.

hasoos

It shouldn't be too hard to remember that Joel is about a 25 minute per night player, and I fully expect Randolph and Aldridge to be on the floor together a lot. A unit with both those guys on the court would have a lot of offense on the floor, and unless you are playing against Shaq, those 2 should be able to hold down the front line pretty well against most of the teams in the league.

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Hasoos

mediocre man

Remember what Zach did to Chris Bosh in Bosh'sfirst couple of years in the league? I can only imagine he will do the same thing to Aldridge in practice until he gains some muscle.

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