Jordan an elite center?
Spears just impeached his credibility with that one.
Yeah. If Jordan were an elite center please tell me how he is not one right now on a team with CP3 and Blake Griffin...
Really hoping he is wrong about this.
It is slim pickings among centers these days, but I don't see how anyone not named Noah, Howard, or Chandler (and maybe Varejao when healthy) can be called "elite" without stretching the term past reasonable credibility.
Jordan is a 24 y/o 6'11" center who is averaging 9/7 in 24 minutes per game. Normally, player's peak years are ~26-31, give or take. Is he "elite" now? No. Could he be "elite" in a year or 3. Yes.
Just remember, at 27 Tyson Chandler did not start for the Bobcat in the playoffs. He averaged only 15 minutes per game. The next season he was a defensive anchor and the starting C for the Dallas team that won the championship. He is now considered one of the top Cs in the league.
IMO, it's a little too early to judge Jordon.
Mk
At 27, Tyson Chandler already had 2 full seasons as a starter in New Orleans in which he averaged 11 pts and 12 rebounds. His play in Dallas wasn't exactly a revelation.
Jordan has 4 seasons of sustained mediocrity so far. Sure, he's younger, and maybe he can improve. But it's far from a given.
Could he be Elite? Sure he could.
But when Olowokandi was the same age as Jordan his averages were somewhat similar. 8.5ppg, 6.4rpg, 1.3bpg shot only 44% from the field (really?), and 54% from the free thrown line, playing 26 minutes a game.
The next season he averaged 11 9 and 2 blocks.
Kwame Brown averaged 7 and 7 at Jordans age in 28 minutes a game.
Perkins 8 and 8 with 2 blocks in 29 minutes.
Darko 8 and 5 in 25 minutes.
Did any of them turn out to bed "elite" by any means?
Kwame Brown has been in the league for 11 years and Perk has been the starter on two championship contending teams.
People seem to constantly miss the replacement value of players as in, "If not Jordan, who?" KG might be gone after this year and almost 100% will be gone after 2 more seasons at the most and it's nearly as certain his performance will further decline. So if you don't trade KG for Bledsoe/Jordan, where is Boston going to get a big as good as Jordan?
Suck bad enough to get a top pick and then be lucky enough to do so when an elite center is coming out of college? Ainge could wait for a decade or more and that never happens.
Bring in a free agent? You'll either have to pay as much or more than what Jordan's getting for an elite big and you could very well end up paying a lot for somebody who isn't as good.
Trade for an elite center? With what assets? KG and Pierce aren't ever going to bring more back in the future than they will right now.
Mike