NBA Draft Recap: LaMarcus Aldridge

by user RotoRob

By Rob Blackstien

Considered the top big man prospect in the country entering the draft, LaMarcus Aldridge was scooped up with the second overall pick by the Bulls (in a pick previously owned by the Knicks) and then immediately flipped in a deal to Portland.

Got that straight? Super.

The 6'11", 240-pound Aldridge enjoyed an excellent sophomore season at Texas with 15 points, over nine rebounds, 1.4 steals and two blocks per game. While his percentages dropped a bit from his freshman year, Aldridge showed enough potential as a skilled big man to justify his lofty draft position.

Aldridge will ultimately take the Portland power forward/centre role currently occupied by Zach Randolph. Expecting an immediate return, however, might be a bit optimistic. Most reports suggest that the First team All-Big 12 selection has a ways to go before he'll be strong enough to maximize his talents at either end of the floor.

Word out of the Summer League suggest that he's going to have difficulty with his perimeter defense, but no one doubts his raw talent and potential.

Aldridge, who will turn 21 on Wednesday, is athletic for a big man. He combines length and skill -- a tremendous pairing in the NBA. That combination translated into a whack of double-doubles for the Longhorns this year.

He's been compared to some of the top skilled big men in the association, including Channing Frye, Chris Bosh and Jermaine O'Neal, but Aldridge will need to grow into his frame before he can deliver on that kind of promise.

The knock on him coming out of high school was that he was soft and his heart was questioned, and to some extent, this remains an issue. If this is truly the case, playing in Portland won't exactly help matters, considering the nightmarish situation that's festered there in recent seasons.

Still, a big skilled man with potential to grow into his body is the dream of every NBA GM, so we'll reserve judgment on Aldridge for now, especially considering the scouting report and knock on Bosh coming out college did not differ greatly.

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Date

Fri 07/14/06, 6:51 pm EST

ASwaffAll-American

1213 days ago

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The time it will take for him to develop is what surprised me about his coming out when he did. Yes, he got drafted high. Yes, he'll make a lot of money. But if he'd taken at least another year to build up more strength and get more consistent with his jump shot, he'd be a lot more likely to make an immediate impact in the NBA. And he would have had a lot of help, because I really believe that if he'd stayed, UT wouldn't be having all the problems they're having with people leaving. They lost all five of their starters from last season to graduation or the draft, and they lost one more to transfer.

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RotoRobJV Squad

1213 days ago

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I hear you about Aldridge coming out early. But considering he didn't have any high schoolers to compete with this year, it was probably a calculated gamble on his part, as next year the top freshman class that he'd have to go up against will be bigger than ever. As for the Longhorns, I haven't had a chance to review their 2006-07 recruiting class, but maybe they'll get lucky and bounce back immediately like the Tar Heels did this year.

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ASwaffAll-American

1213 days ago

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They had a great recruiting class. They picked up two players that were at the McDonald's All-American game, including the game's MVP. Hopefully Abrams will live up to his potential this season, because he's going to be foreced into a much bigger role. The thing is, they had a good recruiting class, but it's hard in any year to replenish an entire starting roster and a bench that lost two players throughout the season to transfer.

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Bobbyjim45Draft Pick

1213 days ago

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Aldridge needs to fill out his huge frame to have NBA success.

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RotoRobJV Squad

1213 days ago

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So it sounds like UT will go through the same kind of rebuilding this year that any team would when its roster is decimated. No big surprise.

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RotoRobJV Squad

1213 days ago

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Absolutely, BobbyJim. Aldridge is going to be outmuscled in the beginning. I hope Portland's not dumb enough (doubtful) to have him match up against any true centres.

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