The Portland Trail Blazers have a long list of celebrated former players, many of whom helped lead the team to three NBA Finals appearances and one championship. The current Blazers starters have shown lots of promise, but how would they compare to former Blazers greats at similar points in their career? And if there is an option on the free agent market this summer that better compares to a player from Blazers’ past, would you continue to invest in the current lineup, or make the switch? Read on to see OSN Writers Ryan Chase (RC) and Casey Mabbott (CM) debate.
Point Guard
(CM) Damian Lillard VS Terry Porter
Lillard in my opinion is really much better than any point guard the Blazers have ever had, and has hopefully silenced the fans that had been griping about missing out on drafting Chris Paul for the better part of a decade. Lillard can score in bunches and is deadly from beyond the arc, but does struggle to lead and run the offense. He certainly has the potential to average 10 assists and 20 points per game, and with averages over his first two seasons of 20 points and 6 assists, he is well on his way. Terry Porter was probably a better true point guard, but lacked Lillard’s aggressiveness and scoring ability over the course of his entire career, and as Lillard has just two years under his belt it’s tough to say if or when his numbers will line up with Porter’s, but in his best two seasons (1988-1990) Porter averaged nearly 10 assists and 17 points per game, so there’s reason to believe that Lillard will meet and exceed Porter’s numbers in no time. Porter did help lead the team to two NBA Finals appearances, and as the clear franchise player of the future, Lillard may be asked to answer to that before too long if he doesn’t get to the NBA Finals in the next 2-5 years, even though that expectation should never be held over the head of single player.
Verdict – Lillard wins this one, and you have to keep him here, and for as long as possible. The Rookie of the Year last year and an all-star this year, Lillard’s future is only going to get brighter, and that’s scary for every team but Portland. Based on just stats alone, Lillard is the best point guard Portland has had since the days of Terry Porter and with his 2.5 treys a game, has a great case to be considered the best Blazer point guard ever. He is young and rarely has any injuries, and is as fearless and aggressive as any player in the league today. Portland would be wise to not just hold on to him long-term, but to sign him to an extension this year before he hits a contract year next season.
(RC) Damian Lillard VS Terry Porter
It is tremendously hard to say which player the Blazers would rather have right now. Porter was a distributor first back when point guards were almost exclusively pass-first players, at least until he was counted on as a primary scoring threat. He averaged nine assists per game for his first five seasons, then watched those drop to five and a half a game while his scoring went up five from 13 per game to 18.
Oddly, Lillard is following the reverse career path, starting as a scoring threat and progressing into a more assist oriented player. Obviously no one is ever going to compare Lillard to John Stockton, but I think Lillard is the player Portland needs right now.
Shooting Guard
(RC) Wesley Matthews VS Clyde Drexler
This is not even a contest. Clyde Drexler was the greatest player to ever wear that black jersey, and it will take a few more years at his current level for LaMarcus Aldridge to get within speaking distance. 20 points, six boards, five assists for his entire career, an absurd 27 points per game in back-to-back seasons. Compares favorably stat wise to Gary Payton and Reggie Miller. There is no question at all here.
This is unfair to Matthews, who has vastly improved his game while in Portland, but is being compared to a world-class player and a future Hall of Famer. That said, Portland could stand to improve at the shooting guard position (especially at Matthews’ price point), but unless Portland can land someone like Evan Turner, replacing him seems unnecessary.
(CM) Wesley Matthews VS Clyde Drexler
Matthews is a great player, and although he’ll never be the first scoring option, he’s a good scorer, and one of the better defenders in the league. He has a tendency to get beaten by the faster players, and takes too many chances on both sides of the court, so I’m not sure he’s the right fit for Portland long-term, even if he is one of the more consistent shooters from mid-range and beyond the arc. Compared to Clyde Drexler, the best scorer the team has ever had (and may ever), Matthews falls short. In his fourth year with the team and his first full season as a starter (1986-87), Drexler put up averages of 22 points, 7 assists, and 2 steals per game while shooting 50% from the field and playing 38 minutes per game, and that was just the beginning of an amazing stretch that lasted through the 1994 season. Matthews put up good numbers in his fourth year with the team and his first full year as a starter (16 points, 3 assists, 1 steal, 2.5 treys, and shooting 45% from the field on 34 minutes per game), but just doesn’t seem to have that “IT” factor. While there is still time to turn it around and boost his numbers, Wes is not just has not proven to my eyes that he can be a lock down defender or a primary scoring option, and I believe you need to be at least one of the two to start in this league.
Verdict – Drexler in a landslide. Matthews displayed too much potential in Utah to pass on as a restricted free agent in 2009, but those days are over, and I think this is the best we’re going to get from Wes. There aren’t any better options in free agency at shooting guard, so unless Wes can take a deal that helps the team long-term rather than his pockets, it might be best to see if a team will trade a young player and a pick in exchange, or make offers to RFA Eric Bledsoe (assuming he isn’t serious about a max-deal) and UFA Rudy Gay.
Small Forward
(CM) Nicolas Batum VS Scottie Pippen
Batum is as close to a walking riddle as the team is ever going to have. He continues to be a player that could be great one day, but is above average now. His has increased his points per game averages in each of his six seasons, and continues to be one of the best defensive players in the NBA, routinely asked to individually shut down the opponent’s best scoring threat. While the Blazers and fans must wait to see if he can ever become the next Scottie Pippen, that is the player he will be compared to, and rightfully so. At age 34 and in his only full season as a starter in Portland (1999-2000), Pippen put up 13 points, 5 assists, 1 steal, 1 trey, and 45% shooting on 34 minutes per game and was named to the NBA’s all-defensive second team. At age 25 and in his first full season as a starter, Batum put up 13 points, 5 assists, 1 steal, 2 treys, 1 block, and 46% shooting on 36 minutes per game. Pippen’s best year in his career was with the Bulls in 1991-92 at age 26, when he averaged 21 points, 7 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, and 50% shooting on 39 minutes per game and was named to the NBA’s all-defensive 1st team. As good as Batum is now, the team and the fans will be waiting to see if he can become what Pippen did in 1992, and ideally help Lillard and LaMarcus Aldridge to their first of multiple titles.
Verdict – A draw, but only given Pippen’s age in our comparison. Keep Batum, and sign him to a long-term deal unless he loses his mind and demands a max contract, and hope finishes developing in to Pippen 2.0 in a hurry. He has injury problems, and can have head-scratching inconsistency, but short of Kevin Durant, there isn’t a better young forward out there in the league with nearly as much potential. Defense is not all about stats, it’s about shutting down the player opposite you, and Batum needs to re-learn to turn that on even when the coaching staff doesn’t ask him to, as he did against Tony Parker in the playoffs once it was clear Matthews could not handle him. He has all of the length and talent needed to be one of if not the best defenders in the league, and it’s time he called his own number more before he demands to be paid.
(RC) Nicolas Batum VS Cliff Robinson
From 1989 to 1997, Robinson was one of the best all-around big players in the NBA. Four straight years of 19+ points per game and around six rebounds per game. While he could play at power forward and center, small forward is where he dominated most for Portland. He was also a strong defender who only got better over his career.
Compare to Batum, who has averaged 13.5 points per game over the last five seasons, along with seven rebounds. Batum is about the same level of defender at his point in his career as Robinson was, and Batum has a significant passing edge for the Blazers, where he is counted on as a distributor more than Lillard is. Overall, I think Batum is a worse player, but a better fit for these Portland Trail Blazers.
Power Forward
(RC) LaMarcus Aldridge VS Rasheed Wallace
People will always compare Wallace in a Portland uniform to the “Jail Blazers” era, and his antics with the law along with Zach Randolph, Damon Stoudamire, and company. They forget about Rasheed averaging 18 points and 8 rebounds his career in the Rose City, along with almost two blocks per game and a passion for the game that bordered on psychotic.
That said, LaMarcus Aldridge is a world-class player, one of the three best power forwards in the NBA right now. At his current rate of production, Aldridge will be a Hall of Fame player and the best player in Portland history. For reference, LaMarcus’s last four years are better than any four years of Rasheed’s career. Portland would not trade LaMarcus for the world.
(CM) LaMarcus Aldridge VS Maurice Lucas
Fellow Blazer fans may want to hang me for saying this, but I just don’t like the idea of Aldridge being the team’s leader or their primary option on offense or defense, not long-term at least, even if he is still relatively young at age 28. As good of an all-around player as he is, post players need to be tough and sometimes nasty when necessary, and I just don’t see that from Aldridge. He scores as well as anyone on average, but I just don’t see that consistent willingness to charge in to the post and make a move, or put himself in the battle for the board. Many fans hope to see him become another Tim Duncan or Kevin Garnett, both very well known for their play inside, and “good for a big man” play outside, but I’m worried that he settled a long time ago for being a well-rounded and extremely talented offensive player that prefers others take care of the dirty work, and pushes himself when the situation calls for it, but not during every single game, which is what the superstars do. He put up career numbers this year (his 8th with the team) in just 69 total games, with averages of 23 points, 11 rebounds, 1 block, 3 assists, and 46% shooting on 36 minutes per game. Maurice Lucas is probably the best Blazers’ great for comparison to Aldridge, and in his first and best season with Portland (1976-77), Lucas put up averages of 20 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists, a steal, a block, and 46% shooting on 36 minutes per game while playing alongside Bill Walton. Now, most would say that Walton being on the court was a huge advantage for Lucas, and they’re right. And to that I say that Lucas played without Walton in 1978-79, and put up averages of 20 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, and 47% shooting on 36 minutes per game. I don’t think anyone would have ever called Lucas a superstar or the franchise player, but there is no denying what a special player he was even if he was better suited to be Robin and not Batman, which was always the case with Aldridge until Brandon Roy retired and the team and fans seemed hell-bent on forcing him in to a role he is not only perhaps ill-suited for, but doesn’t appear to have that internal fire to push himself to that level, not consistently anyway. Case and point, Lucas may not have had Aldridge’s outside shot or length on defense, but he made up for it with a gritty, blue-collar attitude, and that’s the attitude I believe the team is missing these days, specifically from its captain. That doesn’t mean that Aldridge is soft, but it does mean that the team needs a fiery leader, and he’s not the guy.
Verdict – Lucas wins the battle but that doesn’t mean that Aldridge is not an amazing player. Keep him here if he is willing to work on making his new deal realistic to bring in a more brutish center (Marcin Gortat?) and some better depth for the rest of the team, but don’t overpay him just to make him think he’s the player you want him so desperately to be. If he seems more interested in a higher contract, it’s sadly time to move him for an established young superstar (Kevin Love, Paul George, etc.) or a high first rounder and the draft pick option will need to include Neil Olshey bringing in Pau Gasol in the short term so the team doesn’t have a drop off in production.
Center
(CM) Robin Lopez VS Bill Walton
Lopez is a good fill-in starter, but he’s not the long-term answer at center. Back and leg/foot problems may not be plaguing him here in Portland yet, but give it time. Lopez has suffered a slew of injuries since being drafted in 2008, and is already on his third team. He has started the last two seasons (1 in New Orleans, 1 in Portland), but has never averaged more than 32 minutes per game, and the herniated disk he suffered in Phoenix has clearly never stopped bothering him. He has good length but is not all that strong and has trouble going head-to-head with the elite centers. Bill Walton is widely considered the best center to play for Portland, and in his most-complete season (all 4 seasons in Portland were cut short by injury) he averaged a career best 19 points, 15 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 blocks, 1 steal, and 53% shooting on 35 minutes per game while leading the Blazers to their first winning season, first playoff berth, and only title in team history. Lopez started all 82 games in his only season in Portland so far, averaging 11 points, 8 rebounds, 2 blocks, and 55% shooting on 32 minutes per game while helping the team to the 2nd round of the playoffs and their first playoff series victory in 14 years. At age 25 it’s still too early to write Lopez off as an injury prone journeyman backup, but that appears to be his fate even if this year did not offer that lesson.
Verdict – There are better options out there, even if they are not as young. Marcin Gortat and Pau Gasol are both over 30, but are unrestricted free agents this summer and have proven they can handle being and defending elite centers, and be healthy for the most part, although Gasol has had trouble with foot problems as his offensive workload increased the last two years. Cleveland’s Spencer Hawes is another option, although Gorat and Gasol would be my first choices. Lopez would be a great backup, and ideally he accepts a new deal here and stays as a quality reserve, but if losing him means getting a great starter, that’s acceptable.
(RC) Robin Lopez VS Bill Walton
Lopez has only just completed his first season in Portland, but it is hard to imagine him ever reaching the production of Walton, even if Lopez stays on the court more often. Walton averaged 13 rebounds per game for his four seasons in a Blazers uniform, along with 16 points per game. With that said, Lopez has played in every game in the last two seasons, while Walton had a career-high of 65 games, and a Portland low 35 in his first year.
A healthy Walton would be a dream come true for any NBA team at any time in Bill’s career, but since that is not possible, Lopez is the man for the Blazers. Portland could definitely use a backup or split-time player like Spencer Hawes for depth purposes, but it is hard to be disappointed in RoLo’s first season here.
Well, in the end we agreed that Lillard and Batum need to stay here long-term, and we have different opinions on the futures of Aldridge and Lopez, and that we’d both like to see Drexler in uniform again. To recap, here’s how our starting rosters looked:
(CM) Lillard, Drexler, Batum, Lucas, Walton
(RC) Lillard, Drexler, Batum, Aldridge, Walton
Who would you choose from Blazers, both new and old, to make a Rip City Dream Team? Feel free to weigh in with your thoughts below.