[JoeWolf1]

I don’t know if any of you guys are watching the game, but I think OKC’s strategy of bringing along their bigs slowly should go into the next phase.  Nazr Mohammed is a great vet center to have on your team, but when you see Cole Aldrich play it’s pretty easy to see that the young guy is passing him up.  

Nazr only gets 12 mpg, but he plays every game, Aldrich could really help out OKC getting everyday minutes, and by the time the playoffs roll around he’ll have that much more experience.  He’s a big game player, a mean defender, a guy who can fire outlet passes to Westbrook, Harden and Durant, and a guy who doesn’t screw up much.  He looked awful at times last year, with his excessive fouling, but he really does look a lot better from what I’ve seen of him this season.

Give the young guy a shot.

[GlenTaylorSucksParticipant]

I never played basketball, but I watched Cole Aldrich single-handedly beat our HS team- he had something like 37 points, 25 rebounds, and 8 blocks. He’s capable of being a defensive monster. He’s a lot quicker off the jump than he looks, has really good timing, and is longer than he looks as well. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think he’s gonna be completely special at the NBA level due to his lack of offensive skill, but I think he can be good enough to be a good defensive C.

[aamir543Participant]

 I completly agree, even moreso since this is just about getting some quick minutes, but it would do wonders with his development. On a sidenote Perkins finally had a good game by his standards.25 minutes, 5 points and 12 boards with 5 blocks, on 2 of 3 shooting, exactly what they need from him.

And Aldrich has gotten 18 minutes thus far, to Mohammed’s 14, and Aldrich has 4 and 3 in those minutes. He still has a ways to go, but I think that the more game expeience he gets, the better he’ll get.

[Taylor Gang MikeParticipant]

 Aldrich a beast, i hope they trade him to my sixers

[JonOatsParticipant]

Obv Presti is doing a lot of things right in OKC, but evaluating bigs hasn’t been his strong suit. Gave away Mullens who has been contributing nicely with the Bobcats and trade for Aldrich just to use him as a practice player basically. 

[elliotmcadooParticipant]

In college he proved he can play tough D get rebounds and blocks and theres no reason he shouldnt get more time with the Thunder because there not that good Perkins cant run the floor at all Cole can and hes a big D presence in the paint ect.. he deserves more time in the limited action hes had hes done pretty well

[frogmanParticipant]

Yes if only Presti could evaluate bigs, he only found some kid noone had heard of from the Congo at the end of the 1st round.  How’s that working out? Pretty well I think.  And good for Mullens that he is contributing a couple of points and rebounds on one of the worst teams in NBA history.  He does not deserve minutes on the Thunder.

[MuggsyParticipant]

I fully agree with OP. I’ve been to two Thunder games this season and Aldrich has only gotten in about the last 4 minutes of each game, and I think he went for around 6 pts 4 rebs 1 blk in both…in 4 minutes!? He just comes in and acts as if he’s been playing the entire game. I love Nazr don’t get me wrong, but I think if they gave Aldrich more minutes he’d deffinitely open up some eyes.

[Anton123Participant]

 I too agree 100%, Cole Aldrich is probably not as good as Nazr right now, but Mohammed is going to retire in the next two years and Aldrich has the potential to be a very good role player. I know it’s wrong, with me being a Thunder fan, but I kinda hope Collison stays injured for a little while, so Aldrich can prove himself.

He’s quite athletic, has extremely wide shoulders, is pretty strong is quite a good defender and hustles every play. He also already has a better offensive game than Perkins, I think he definitely deserves some minutes

[Iggy PhillyParticipant]

I watched aldrich all throughout his college career at kansas and he has great timing on blocks and rebounds. He`s gonna become very solid for the thunder

[apb540Participant]

I clicked the thumbs up for ya. Aldrich is going to be a great piece for the Thunder moving forward and that’s why they are going to win championships: they have competent people running their franchise. 

[Chilbert arenasParticipant]

Ibaka wasn’t some hidden gem no one had heard of, people had been talking about him a decent amount a year before the draft, then he was drafted, spent another year over in Spain in which people were still talking about him. He was compared to Shawn Kemp at the time. I was disappointed my Suns took Robin Bropez over Serg at the time.

[frogmanParticipant]

Yes it was a bit of an overexaggeration but you get my point.

[Author]

Posts