I know a lot of people think he's going to Dallas or Los Angeles. I just don't see what would attract him to those teams, they have over the hills stars but don't really have anyone else to build around. maybe Danny's plan is coming true sign Matthews and Aldridge?
I wouldn't be surprised at all to see Aldridge come to Boston, BUT I'm not sure he'd be willing to come here based on what we have right now.
I think he'd be willing to come here if he knew we had a plan to bring in another key player.
For example if he knew that Boston already had a 'gentlemans agreement' with Monroe, then there's a good chance a guy like Aldridge would agree to come here - the addition of both guys would make us a major force in the East.
He's an excellent player, but he's not enough to make us contenders (with or without Matthews coming along), and he's about to turn 30, so we wouldn't have as much time to build a roster around him as we would, say, Love.
I disagree - I think Aldridge is a FAR better player than Love, and probably the best free agent on the market this year.
Aldridge has averaged at least 23/10 for the past two seasons, he's a good passer (around 2.5 APG over the past 3 seasons), is a very versatile offensive player (can score in the post, from midrange, from three, gets to the line) and is solid enough defensively to at least hold his own.
Plus at 6'11" with a 7'5" wingspan he has absolutely dominant size at the PF spot as well as very good mobility.
Aldridge (much like DMC) has is so versatile (in terms of both physical attributes and skills) that he can be paired with pretty much any center. This is a strong contrast to guys like:
Kevin Love - who NEEDS a center who's a good rim protector and post scorer
Greg Monroe - who NEEDS a mobile PF with a jumpshot
Marc Gasol - who NEEDS a PF who can dominate offensively and on the boards
Lamarcus Aldridge and Demarcus Cousins are two of only a handful of big man who can hold their own in every aspect of the game at their positions, on both ends of the court.
The only real downside with Aldridge is that his age leaves you with a limited window, but he's so good that adding him to a team that's already playoff-good immediately turns that team into a contender.
Especially in the notoriously weak Eastern Conference.
Think about it - how many teams in the East have a front line that can come close to competing with LaMarcus Aldridge?
Chicago (if they don't crumble after their recent coaching change), Washington (if they can get anywhere without Pierce's heroics), maybe Indiana (if West still has anything in the tank), maybe Philly (if Noel+Embiid experiment works out).
A lot of maybes there.
I think if LaMarcus Aldridge comes to Boston, he immediately becomes the best big man in the entire Eastern conference, and that's a nice advantage to have.
He'd have to be an idiot not to go to San Antonio.
He would be paired with one of the best small forwards in the NBA for the rest of his career.
He would be coached by Pop.
He would play for a championship next year with Duncan, Parker, and Ginobli.
I still don't get the obsession with this idea, at all.
Do we even know if Duncan is coming back this year, or if he'll retire? If he does come back this year, it'll probably be his last.
Ginobili is well and truly over the hill at this point - even KG has more impact. Next year he's another year older, and IF he doesn't retire, he'll likely struggle to provide any real production.
Parker is severely overrated as it is - there is pretty much nothing that guy does better than Isaiah Thomas. He's a good (not great) scorer, he's a average playmaker, he's statistically one of the 5-10 worst defensive point guards in the entire NBA...and he's not getting any younger. If Duncan and Ginobili retire after this season (or next) then the Spurs go into rebuild mode around Leonard. Does it make any sense at all for the Spurs to keep a >33 year old Parker through a rebuild?
Pop is 66 years old, he's not a young'n by any stretch of the imagination. If Duncan and Ginobili retire and Parker goes elsewhere, will Pop stick around through a rebuild or retire and call it a career?
There are so many question marks around this team. Their future shows about one year or certainty, and after that nobody has any clue what to expect. Spurs (off pure pot luck) hit a gold mine when they got the #1 pick and drafted Duncan - they have been riding that luck for the past (almost) two decades. Leonard is a nice player, but he's not a Tim Duncan calibre, franchise player. He's got the potential to be an All-Star, and low level superstar at a stretch. He doesn't really have "all time great" potential - he's no Lebron James or Kevin Garnett.
So if you're LaMarcus Aldridge, and you're 30 years old, and you're a free agent, and you have maybe 3 or 4 years of all-star level basketball left in you...do you really want to sign a multi-year deal to go to a place where you have at most 1 season of competitiveness, followed by another 3 or 4 seasons of complete uncertainty?
I know I wouldn't.
I'd want to go to a team that has the potential to compete in their conference for the next 3-5 years.
Boston has a fairly young GM and Coach who are have built up impressive reputations in the league, and are not likely to be going anywhere for the next 4 or 5 years.
They have have the second or third youngest roster in the league and don't have a single star on the roster, yet just finished with the 7th best record in their conference.
They have more draft picks over the next 4 or 5 years the possibly any other team in the NBA
They have more Trade Exceptions right now than possibly any other team in the NBA
They have enough cap space to sign a max contract player straight up
They have a strong tradition for winning, and one of the biggest fan bases in the league
There are a LOT of appealing things about playing for Boston right now. I think it would be very obvious to ANY star player out there how much potential this team has. We have the type of roster that is just BEGGING for a superstar to jump in, and take the spotlight - and we are really only that one superstar away from being a serious contender.
Plus we have all the youth and assets to put us in a position to continue to get better on a year by year basis.
I'm sure there are other teams out there that have the potential for a 4-5 year contention window if they added a guy like Aldridge - teams like Cleveland, Atlanta, etc. But I think it's hard to leave Boston off that list.
Topic: Lemarcus Aldridge puts Portland home up for sale (Read 8463 times)