Exclusive The official Lamarcus Aldridge free agency thread

Maybe Olshey should invest some of that cap money in bulk xanax.

 

Aldridge is a dip shit in my estimation to leave, no one can guarantee him a trophy, he isn't Lebron. Look at Dwight and all his trophy chasing and where he is. Only guarantee he had was stay a blazer and have your jersey in the rafters. Legacy should trump all if he has watched recent history. the spurs arent't retiring 12 for him.

 

New nickname... The Gravy Train

 

He might realize that as he's evaluating his options. That and the extra $27 million.

 

Don't feel too bad. I'd say over 98% of players are really only giving lip service when they talk about how much they appreciate the fans. It's big business and we're just the wallpaper.

 

Maybe a ring means more to him than a bit of fabric hanging in a gym somewhere? If he goes to the Spurs I'd say his odds of winning a title in the next couple of years are pretty good. There's no guarantees in anything, but his chances here were pretty much 0% after Wesley went down this year.

So not a dipshit at all; I'd say he's being a highly rational actor on his own behalf. Blame management for not surrounding him with a better team over the last 9 years.

 

That's true. And look how many of them were treated poorly around the league that stay loyal and we say "It's just business?" I tweeted this and used Blake as an example

 

I actually think he'd have a much better chance to win a ring if he went to Houston. Their biggest weakness is PF.

 

The Spurs are solid, but not a lock for anything with the clock running fast on Timmy, Manu and Parker. This is a two year window so I assume of he signs there, he'll opt out in year 3.

 

Nik, do you really think we haven't tried? We've been absolutely snakebit by injuries. Roy, GO, everyone this year. You can say a lot of things about management, but you can't say we didn't put a competitive team around LA.

 

FA is bringing in all sorts of new people

 

Susposedly when Dwight Howard went to LA that was an instant title favorite too, look how that blew up. My point is no one can guarantee him anything.

 

I agree, a lot of their misfortune is just plain old shithouse luck, but there's also been a lot of instability and organizational weirdness that I'm sure LaMarcus got tired of. On the plus side, I think Olshey has been a remarkable stabilizing influence, showing a deft ability to connect with the fans, connect with his players and perhaps connect with Allen?

It's not all doom and gloom, but another rebuild at 30 has to be awfully dispiriting for LMA at this point in his career, so I guess I fully understand his urge to look for a different gig. If my job had been this unstable and turbulent for the past nine years I'd probably be looking for work somewhere else too.

 

The thing is, if LaMarcus stays, we still have the assets and cap space to build whatever team we want to. It just blows the mind he doesn't see this.

I think if he does leave, he just didn't like living in Portland or something about the organization. But to leave the legacy to be the BEST FUCKING PLAYER IN THE HISTORY OF AN ORGANIZATION on the table is shitty. We have a good fucking situation for Aldridge.

Lakers are stuck with Kobe's bitch ass and are best served on a youth movement.
Spurs will get too old in one year to do much of anything.
Suns don't even have an allstar on their team. I guess Chandler made it one year, whatever he sucks now.
He'll be lucky to touch the ball in Houston.

I doubt Dame would even catch him on most of the records.

 

Nobody seriously thinks he's looking for a guarantee do they? If anything I'd say there's a reason he's taking visits with so many teams, he wants to make sure he's making a good choice and being fair to the process. The best he can do is try to maximize his chances and picking the Spurs isn't a bad way to go (being closer to his family is probably a major selling point too).

 

There might be sixteen or seventeen teams next year with hordes of cap room. What makes Portland competitive in that environment? Yes if LaMarcus and Lillard are here that makes the team a bit more appealing, but when has having a buttload of cap space ever done much for this organization?

Do you really think this is a "good situation?" It looks like a whole helluva lot of uncertainty to me.

 

If he doesn't like rebuilds then he sure as hell shouldn't sign with the Spurs. Very soon, Ginobli and Duncan and maybe Pops will be gone - these are core pieces. Parker is slowing down and his game is based on quickness. They just let a couple of rotation players go.

In terms of a "big 3", if the Spurs sign him, they are a trade away from a big 3 (please don't bring us role players like Danny Green). If he signs with us, we're a trade away from a big 3. If he signs with Phoenix, he's 2 trades away from a big 3.

Another alternative is to sign with Miami, Olshey-permitting.