Backup plan: Cole Aldrich?

[JumpingJudkins]

Hadn't even considered Aldrich until I saw him ranked as No. 19 on Kevin Pelton's list of available free agents. But if the big names fall through, would he make sense?

Seven-footer who can rebound, block shots, shoots a high percentage and makes his free throws. He won't command anywhere near the max and at the least he would be an upgrade on Zeller.

His per-36 numbers were 14.8 pts, 13.0 reb, 3.1 blk last year, 12/12.3/2.7 in his career. He'll be 28 this season and he has limited wear and tear.

Slow and limited, sure, but seems useful in an under-the-radar way.

Sully, by the way, was a much higher-than-expected No. 8 on Pelton's list ...

[kozlodoev]

If Cole Aldrich is ranked #19 on any list, then said list is miserably short.

[CoachBo]

Big, cumbersome and slow.

NO thanks.

[acieEarl]

How long as he been in the league. I'm thinking at least 4 years. He's been on some crappy teams where should showed something, but hasn't. At this point he's a poor mans Eric Montross. Pass and Pass fast.

[loco_91]

Wow, his stats are really really good for a guy who's gotten a career 11mpg. Especially last year, probably in large part because he got to play with CP3. I'd love to get him on a 1+1, maybe $6m/yr.

Edit: Everyone on this thread is dismissing him out of hand - is this because you haven't looked up his stats? Career .141 WS/40 - that makes him out as an above-average starter.  Last year he posted .209 WS/40, 4.8 BPM, and 1.4 VORP on limited minutes. I'm sure these stats overstate how good he is, but he clearly isn't a scrub.

TP to OP for mentioning this guy.

[kozlodoev]

Edit: Everyone on this thread is dismissing him out of hand - is this because you haven't looked up his stats? Career .141 WS/40 - that makes him out as an above-average starter.  Last year he posted .209 WS/40, 4.8 BPM, and 1.4 VORP on limited minutes. I'm sure these stats overstate how good he is, but he clearly isn't a scrub.

Per-minute stats for someone averaging 10 mpg are practically worthless. He is a scrub.

[Who]

A fine 3rd string center. Shouldn't be relied upon for anymore than that.

[loco_91]

Edit: Everyone on this thread is dismissing him out of hand - is this because you haven't looked up his stats? Career .141 WS/40 - that makes him out as an above-average starter.  Last year he posted .209 WS/40, 4.8 BPM, and 1.4 VORP on limited minutes. I'm sure these stats overstate how good he is, but he clearly isn't a scrub.

Per-minute stats for someone averaging 10 mpg are practically worthless. He is a scrub.

The whole purpose of per-minute stats is to account for differences in playing time.

[Irish Stew]

Edit: Everyone on this thread is dismissing him out of hand - is this because you haven't looked up his stats? Career .141 WS/40 - that makes him out as an above-average starter.  Last year he posted .209 WS/40, 4.8 BPM, and 1.4 VORP on limited minutes. I'm sure these stats overstate how good he is, but he clearly isn't a scrub.

Per-minute stats for someone averaging 10 mpg are practically worthless. He is a scrub.

The whole purpose of per-minute stats is to account for differences in playing time.

  The problem with a player who plays so little is that it means that a good chunk of that time can be garbage time. Translating that to 36mpg can be misleading if you expect him to perform similarly against starters and rotation players, even for limited minutes.

[CapnDunks]

I live in New York. Watched Cole play a lot (knicks had to start him for a while). If you're playing him big minutes its because you're tanking. He might be underrated and might be good enough to be a backup center, but that's all.

[Denis998]

He made headlines when he started for NYK. At the point his actual numbers matched that of his per36 mentioned here. Even on those games that Jordan was sitting for rest, his stats were great. The guy produces when given the chance.

[pearljammer10]

Top 19 free agents for the D League? Because that's where Aldrich belongs.

[TA9]

Some of you guys are being very harsh on Aldrich haha. To be fair he had some decent games last season. The one that stood out to me was a win against the Jazz where he dropped 21 pts and 18 reb on Gobert.

But then again, Zeller also had some nice games for us last season, but he generally played badly.

[kozlodoev]

Edit: Everyone on this thread is dismissing him out of hand - is this because you haven't looked up his stats? Career .141 WS/40 - that makes him out as an above-average starter.  Last year he posted .209 WS/40, 4.8 BPM, and 1.4 VORP on limited minutes. I'm sure these stats overstate how good he is, but he clearly isn't a scrub.

Per-minute stats for someone averaging 10 mpg are practically worthless. He is a scrub.

The whole purpose of per-minute stats is to account for differences in playing time.

I'm sure this is the purpose -- but that means nothing with respect to how well it serves that purpose.

If you play someone a couple of minutes and he typically scores a bucket, does that mean he'll give you 48 points if he plays a full game?

[Denis998]

He also has a 21.3 per this season.