There is a rich history of basketball in Portland, and a beloved history at that. But one thing that the Trail Blazers have lacked for seemingly ages is a dominant big man.
Sure, they’ve made due and had some great years with Robin Lopez, Meyers Leonard, Marcus Camby, Greg Oden, Joel Pryzbilla, Arvydas Sabonis, Kevin Duckworth, Sam Bowie, Mychael Thompson, Tom Owens, Bill Walton, Rick Roberson, Lloyd Neal, Dale Schlueter, and Leroy Ellis.
But when was the last time you saw a Blazers’ center on the court and felt supremely confident that they could play offense and defense and crash the boards as well as any center in the league? My best guess is that the last time was during the days of Walton, the last time a blue-chip center took the court for Portland and made the heart-beat of the defense their own, year in and year out.
In his 1978 MVP season, Walton averaged 18 points, 13 rebounds, 2.5 blocks, and 5 assists per game. In his 1977 championship season, he was arguably even more impressive, averaging 18 points, 14 rebounds, 3 blocks, and 4 assists per game.
For comparison, Lopez, Camby, Pryzbilla, and Duckworth never averaged a double-double. You know Leonard and Oden haven’t, and they were lottery picks. Sabonis did it once (1997), so did Thompson (1982), Roberson (1974), Neal (1973), Schlueter (1972), and Ellis (1971).
Just eight seasons with a healthy and dominant center, and only once where they got that same production from the same player two years in a row. How ridiculous is that?
Walton played his last minute in a Portland uniform on April 21st, 1978 in a playoff win over the eventual conference champion Seattle SuperSonics. It’s 37 years and one month to the day since that game took place, the last time Portland saw a monster in the front court, even a one-footed one at that.
Now is the time to put an end to that drought. DeAndre Jordan is rumored to be interested in leaving LA, and Portland needs a dominant center to put on the court with Aldridge and Lillard.
Make this deal happen.
The great news? Portland could sign both Aldridge and Jordan and keep the rest of their players under contract. It would mean the end of Wesley Matthews and Robin Lopez in Portland, but if that signals the arrival of Jordan, that could be for the best.
If the Blazers offer Aldridge a max-contract ($21.7M), AND paid the rest of the current roster ($28.8M), they would still have $16.6M of projected cap room left over to offer Jordan. His max-offer could be as high as Aldridge’s, but they should be able to sustain that. They wouldn’t have funds left over to sign another FA, but they could make that work.
Jordan will turn 27 this July and is still in his prime, and is arguably Dwight Howard’s only equal at center.
In their head-to-head seven game playoff series, Jordan averaged 13 points, 13 rebounds, and 2 blocks; Howard averaged 17 points, 13 rebounds, and 2 blocks per game.
Isn’t it worth the money to have a Howard-type player (with all of the physical tools and none of the attitude problems) here in the Rose City? Paul Allen has sworn up and down that his checkbook is Neil Olshey’s to cash if the right player is available.
So if money isn’t an issue, how do you recruit a first-rate center like Jordan? You can start by showing him film of Tyson Chandler playing similar role alongside Dirk Nowitzki during Dallas’ title run in 2011, when Terry Stotts was an assistant under Rick Carlise.
Chandler’s role on that team was simple: crash the boards and plug the lane, let Dirk do the work on the offensive side. Show Jordan film of Aldridge and how good he could be if a guy like Jordan had his back in the post, and could guard the opposing team’s best big man on the other end.
Show him how good this young team can be with the right leader on defense. Robin Lopez has all of the heart in the world, but he lacks Jordan’s talent and overall size.
Show him the reception fans gave Greg Oden upon his arrival in Portland, and a picture of the crowd that greeted Bill Walton for their championship parade. Assure him he’ll receive the same love from this city, because he will.
Jordan has experience playing with dynamic forwards in Blake Griffin and Dirk Nowitzki, and he’ll get that here from Aldridge. He also has experience playing with a dynamic point guard in Chris Paul, he’ll get that here from Lillard. He has experience playing for a winning coach in Doc Rivers, he’ll get that here from Stotts.
It’s far-fetched, probably unlikely, and a pipe dream, and given Portland’s history recruiting free agents, perhaps it’s even more far-fetched. But what a dream. Jordan had 252 dunks this season, 2 more than Dwight Howard and Anthony Davis combined, and 73 more than Chandler. He also had 183 blocks, only Davis and Rudy Gobert had more. Jordan made 71% of his field goals, the next highest in the league was 57%. Sure, he only made 39% of his free throws, a number that would make even Shaq shake his head.
But you can get beyond that with his other worldly numbers.
This guy is a slam-dunk. Give him the money he demands, give him a new team and new home, and give him jersey number six in Blazers red and black, and you never look back.
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