Was Elton Brand on his way to the HOF before he got injured?

[RRR3]

I know I made a similar thread years ago, in my more ignorant days. However, if you look at Brand's career before he got hurt, he was comparable to many HOFers statistically.

Elton Brand

[Locked_Up_Tonight]

No.

[Kblaze8855]

Never cared for his game. And he ****ed Baron over. And I didnt rep him when he was my teams franchise player early on either. Just never...felt...Elton Brand. Ever. And I dont have "That said...." bit of praise to end this with either. Nothing. Post over.

[HoopologyPhD]

Probably, b-ball HOF is extremely weak IMO because it is not just NBA HOF so includes international players, females, coaches etc. who would have been complete scrubs if they even made it to the L.

[Legends66NBA7]

Chicago made a big mistake trading him after his second year. If he strung along like say... 5+ more seasons of his 06 year ? Definitely possible.

Carried a pretty mediocre team Clippers team that season too. Imagine if he had Paul and Jordan back then and they were all healthy ? Brand might not be the overall offensive player Griffin is, but I think his defense would give him the edge.

[Zach LaVine]

I say no. He was all-star quality, not HOF quality.

[IncarceratedBob]

basically a black pau gasol

[Fiasco]

Nope.

[RRR3]

It's not like the HOF is very exclusive. Chris Bosh is a lock, and LaMarcus Aldridge is going to make it as well based on his current trajectory. Are either of them a different tier than Brand?

[Legends66NBA7]

It's not like the HOF is very exclusive. Chris Bosh is a lock, and LaMarcus Aldridge is going to make it as well based on his current trajectory. Are either of them a different tier than Brand?

Nah. Infact, he peaked higher than both.

I can't really see a case being built for him now, but if he had repeated his 05/06 season, he probably could have.

[RRR3]

Nah. Infact, he peaked higher than both.

I can't really see a case being built for him now, but if he had repeated his 05/06 season, he probably could have.
Well obviously he doesn't have a case NOW (although even if he made it now he wouldn't be the worst HOFer lol), I meant if he hadn't got injured, perhaps he would have had some more big seasons. After 2007, he didn't do much, at least compared to what he did on the Clippers.

[Duderonomy]

SI had him ranked #6 going into the 2003-04 Season. :oldlol:

[Smoke117]

Absolutely.

[VIP2000]

He would have had to string together several seasons similar to 05-06, and that would include some playoff runs as well.

Keep in mind the next season, the team went 40-42 with virtually the same roster. Cassell missed a lot of games that year (31-27 in the games he did play) and I think people underestimate how much value he brought to a team.

[VIP2000]

Chicago made a big mistake trading him after his second year. If he strung along like say... 5+ more seasons of his 06 year ? Definitely possible.

Carried a pretty mediocre team Clippers team that season too. Imagine if he had Paul and Jordan back then and they were all healthy ? Brand might not be the overall offensive player Griffin is, but I think his defense would give him the edge.

Brand had one MVP caliber season with the Clippers, and really didn't do much outside that season. While he was pretty beastly that season, people tend to overlook the veteran leadership that Sam Cassell brought to the team. The next season they went 40-42 with the same roster, with Cassell in and out of the lineup missing 24 games (31-27 in the games he did play).

[Rooster]

I would have said yes but good riddance. I dunno why he cockblocked the Clips and BDiddy anyways.

[L.Kizzle]

Before he got hurt, he was a 2 time All-Star who made the playoffs once and All-NBA once. He was getting about 20/10 but so was Shareef Abdur-Rahim.

If he had out of this world number than I would have said yes. But he was putting up regular PF numbers on bad teams.

Better PF from his era. KG, Duncan, Webber, Dirk, Jermaine O'Neal, Rasheed Wallace. If you wanna put peak/prime Amare in that bunch, than him too.

[Smoke117]

Before he got hurt, he was a 2 time All-Star who made the playoffs once and All-NBA once. He was getting about 20/10 but so was Shareef Abdur-Rahim.

If he had out of this world number than I would have said yes. But he was putting up regular PF numbers on bad teams.

Better PF from his era. KG, Duncan, Webber, Dirk, Jermaine O'Neal, Rasheed Wallace. If you wanna put peak/prime Amare in that bunch, than him too.

That's an absurd comparison...Brand was much better defensively than Shareef was. It's not Brands fault they never put anything good around him for most of his career.

[L.Kizzle]

That's an absurd comparison...Brand was much better defensively than Shareef was. It's not Brands fault they never put anything good around him for most of his career.
Shareef had way worse teams around him than Brand. Brand in Chicago was playing with Artest, Brad Miller and Jamal Crawford. And with the Clippers (pre-playoff birth) Odom, Corey Magette, Q Richardson.

Theo Ratliff (I think he was always hurt though) & Jason Terry were his best teammates in Atlanta. I remember Glenn Robinson in ATL around that time too. Bibby in Vancouver. Big Country Reeves.

[qrich]

Elton Brand, as much as he's a bitch, will go down as one of the most under-appreciated and underrated players in the history of the National Basketball Association. Dude was relentless on the defensive end of the court, and his ability to box out and grab boards, despite being 6'8, and not very athletic. His offensive prowess was also great, and once he added the mid range jumper/sweeping hook shot, he had a full repertoire.

As far as HOF goes, he might have had good considerations, and considering Lamarcus Aldridge and Chris Bosh are considered locks, no doubt in my mind he would have made it. Team success would've held him back, but not many players were more consistent than Brand was, on both ends of the floor.

[Smoke117]

Elton Brand, as much as he's a bitch, will go down as one of the most under-appreciated and underrated players in the history of the National Basketball Association. Dude was relentless on the defensive end of the court, and his ability to box out and grab boards, despite being 6'8, and not very athletic. His offensive prowess was also great, and once he added the mid range jumper/sweeping hook shot, he had a full repertoire.

As far as HOF goes, he might have had good considerations, and considering Lamarcus Aldridge and Chris Bosh are considered locks, no doubt in my mind he would have made it. Team success would've held him back, but not many players were more consistent than Brand was, on both ends of the floor.

He had a 7-5

[qrich]

[QUOTE=Smoke117]He had a 7-5

[Smoke117]

And was as athletic as Andre Miller :confusedshrug:

It was more of his strength in the post than his wing span that helped him grab so many boards and block 2+ per game consistently.

He was a lot quicker after he lost weight...he was really mobile during that 2006 season. He was mostly a face up player and was able to get by pretty much anyone who was defending him that season. And his crazy wingspan absolutely was a big reason for his rebounding...

[JimmyMcAdocious]

Nope. Unless he kept his peak numbers for a few more years and his team started winning. Unlikely to both.

But what stood out in here is LaMarcus Aldridge is a HOF lock? What?

[Cap'n Obvious]

Elton is not currently expected to be in the Hall of Fame by most people.

[JohnnySic]

Yes he would have. He got injured at age 27/28, very much in his prime. Another 3-5 good seasons and would have had the career stats to get him in.

[Reggie43]

Nope. Always thought of him as an overachiever that wasnt as good as his numbers indicate.

[Done_And_Done]

Elton Brand, as much as he's a bitch, will go down as one of the most under-appreciated and underrated players in the history of the National Basketball Association. Dude was relentless on the defensive end of the court, and his ability to box out and grab boards, despite being 6'8, and not very athletic. His offensive prowess was also great, and once he added the mid range jumper/sweeping hook shot, he had a full repertoire.

As far as HOF goes, he might have had good considerations, and considering Lamarcus Aldridge and Chris Bosh are considered locks, no doubt in my mind he would have made it. Team success would've held him back, but not many players were more consistent than Brand was, on both ends of the floor.

Can you please elaborate on this? Just curious....

[Clifton]

Brand was always underrated. The one year he had a decent team, they were legit. They weren't title contenders but they were good.

I don't think Aldridge is as good as Brand was. Brand was a defensive anchor.

There was something mediocre about him, though. It wasn't a pure coincidence that he never won anything. But team up with almost any guard with some spirit (like if Paul Pierce had come to LA) and you would've had a contender.

[Clifton]

Before he got hurt, he was a 2 time All-Star who made the playoffs once and All-NBA once. He was getting about 20/10 but so was Shareef Abdur-Rahim.

If he had out of this world number than I would have said yes. But he was putting up regular PF numbers on bad teams.

Better PF from his era. KG, Duncan, Webber, Dirk, Jermaine O'Neal, Rasheed Wallace. If you wanna put peak/prime Amare in that bunch, than him too.
He had terrible luck.

That he's getting compared to SAR is proof of this. SAR is a totally different case. Brand was a 2-way anchor. His 20/10 was more like Duncan's 20/10 than SAR's or Jamison's.

Now it happens that there were a lot of great PFs when he was playing: Duncan, KG, and Dirk are all top 5 PFs all time. Webber had a higher peak, and Jermaine and Rasheed won more (they weren't better).

It's not fair that Brand doesn't at least get to be in that company of PFs you post and is grouped with SAR and Jamison. He was legit, those other two were not.