TallBottom

Hey I thought Roy was ROY

Boob-No-More

By getting both Aldridge and Roy, I think they covered all their bases. They got the best big AND the best guard. It's not like they pulled a Clippers and took Olowokandi and passed on Vince Carter.

Agreed. I disagree with the general assessment many "experts" were making that this was a weak draft. It definitely lacked the franchise-making consensus No. 1 (Shaq, Duncan, Lebron, etc.) player, but those special players only come along about once every five years. So, if that's the only criterion, 80% of all drafts are "weak". I think there will be a couple of perennial all-stars emerge from this draft class, a handful of solid starters and several valuable role players, but probably no true superstars. So, while it may have been weak at the very top, overall, I think it was a very solid draft class top to bottom. Really, REALLY good drafts with multiple superstars (1984, 2003) are very rare. It would have been nice if the Blazers could have grabbed a future superstar at No. 2, but given the draft class I think they did awesome to get both Aldridge and Roy.

Others have also gushed about Aldridge's talent. His high school coach, who also coached Chris Bosh, thinks Aldridge will be a better pro than Bosh.

Since they already had Roy pretty much locked in at No. 6, it made sense to move up to No. 2 to grab Aldridge. The two of them together (no matter which order they were drafted in), should give the Blazers a very solid frontcourt - backcourt combo for the future. Since they already have $80 million invested in Zach, and he is their leading scorer and rebounder AND they have a strong desire to trade Miles, they could have easily passed on Aldridge and taken Morrison as he would have (potentially) adressed a more immediate need. In this case, I think they took Aldridge and Roy simply beacuse they are better all around players who make the team better at BOTH ends of the floor. A wise move IMHO.

BNM

Boob-No-More

He supposedly injured it during the summer league. So, they couldn't have known about it before the draft (not that it would have mattered, they still would have taken him as it's such a minor injury that is easily repaired). I don't know exactly how small the tear was, but obviously not big enough to limit his play during the rest of the summer league. He doesn't even remember specifically when the injury happened. They simply elected to fix it now rather than risk it getting worse. Who knows, it may very well have healed itself without any surgery, but why take a chance? This way they know it's been repaired and won't have to worry about the tear getting bigger over the course of an 82 game schedule. Plus, I'd rather have him set out a few weeks now than during the middle of the season when he will be getting valuable experience. It may set his weight lifting regimen back by a couple months (although he should still be able to work on his legs and lower body and overall conditioning), but in the course of his overall development it's a very, very minor setback - hardly a even a blip in the grand scheme of things.

BNM

Perfection

I'll give you Kandi but LaFrentz at least used to be good. He had some really good years in Denver and I think even lead hte league in blocks.

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It's_GO_Time

Well I hope you are right, but personally I'm not ready to label this a very, very minor setback a day after surgery.

Didn't LA also have an injury in college that caused him to miss games?

Boob-No-More

ROY is overrated (let's hope Roy isn't).

For example take the rookie class of 1996.

ROY = Damon Stoudamire
Best Player = Kevin Garnett

Who would you rather have on your team?

Joe Smith had a better rookie year than Kevin Garnett.

Who would you rather have drafted?

Raheed Wallace didn't receive a single vote for ROY.

Who's the better player and had the better career, Sheed or Damon?

Another example: In 1997, Kerry Kittles finished 5th in ROY voting. Kobe Bryant didn't receive a single vote. Kittles started as a rookie and averaged 16.4ppg. Kobe came off the bench and averaged 7.6ppg. Kobe got better, Kittles didn't.

Who's the better player?

Often a player wins rookie of the year simply because he ends up playing starter minutes on a very bad team. It doesn't mean he's the best player from that draft class, just that he put up big numbers his rookie year.

No doubt about it, Morrison will average more points per game this year and will receive more ROY votes than Aldridge - he may even win the award. That doesn't mean he's the best player, or will have the best career, of the players drafted this year. Only time will tell.

BNM

Boob-No-More

Given the nature of the injury, I am. It's not like a minor shoulder ligament tear is career threatening. It's not like he blew out his ACL or ruptured his rotator cuff. Those are much more serious injuries - but with modern surgical techniques they aren't the career enders they once were.

A hip injury. He went through a successful rehab, made a good comeback and hasn't shown any additional problems with the hip.

BNM

TallBottom

I agree totally (I was joking. I don't think it really matters just part of the hype ... I do think Roy has the potential to contribute in ways that may not show up on the stats...

It's_GO_Time

Thanks for the link . . . enjoyed the read, especially in light of the recent surgery.