So if you really are a lurker around here, LMA - Stop taking so many friggin' jumpshots!!! Seriously.
Yeah it was ridiculous; two admins belittling posters and spamming the board with dozens of asinine replies guaranteeing Aldridge would leave.
Speaking for no one but myself, I posted that when LaMarcus told Olshey he wasn't going to re-sign here, I took him at his word an thought that a smart team should maximize the value for him, rather than have him leave for nothing, based on reported deals that were on the table (Thompson, 2013 #1 overall, and either #19 or CLE's #1 in 2014). Some posted that he'd never said that and made all kinds of accusations and attacks similar to your post above, which were rebutted (and, it turns out, those posters were gloriously wrong as he admitted a few months later that he said exactly that). Some said that there's no reason to trade him in 2013, when you could trade him in 2014 or the 2015 trade deadline (reasonable thought--my conjecture was and is that you'd get a better return if you were guaranteed 2 years from him instead of just one before he could leave.. Some said to keep him and that, even if he left, the cap space left over would be better than "crappy draft picks" (this, to my mind, was the least logical option). Once we traded for Lopez, you saw very little advocation for an LMA trade, because even with the trade there would be no way we'd be bad enough for a good pick to rebuild and only have this year's MLE to grow with. Then I posted that we should use the cap space that eventually ended up being Dorell Wright's deal to give him a max extension, to bump his salary to max over 2013-14 and 2014-15 and a max extension for 2015-16 and 2016-17, since that would be "max" money for "max" years, but he said that it wasn't about the money, it was about the quality of the team, and that he'd see where the team was going before signing anything. If he's changed his mind and wants to stay here, great. I'd be stoked to see him become the best Blazer ever. But the best financial option would be to take the 3-year max extension and then sign another 3-year max extension in summer of 2017 (if the Blazers "promised" one, which seems likely if they are saying they'll offer him a 5-year). Instead, he's "promising" the Blazers that he'll sign a 5-year next summer--leaving them totally open to a LeBron/Boozer situation.
It's nice to hear that his intentions show some loyalty to the Blazers, but I think paying him 5 years max money is probably going to bite the team in the arse down the line, by not paying the dividends such a contract ought to provide. Anyway, a whole lot can change in a year. This thread might be worth saving and revisiting.
What I find a little contradictory with this is when LA said he was going to leave you characterize it as: I took him at his word When he says he is going to stay you characterize it as "promising" in quotes and compare him to Lebron/Boozer (implying you can't take him at his word) Both statements create the same situation but you make it sound like one is reasonable to believe and act on and the other is not.
As I said, I believed him when he said he was going to leave. I opined that the team should act on it. He has since changed his mind. And I put "promise" in quotes because a team can't "promise" LMA a future extension in 2017 and be held to it any more than LMA being held to signing the 5-year next summer. It wasn't a commentary on whether I believe the man or not.
I don't believe LMA ever said, "I am going to leave." I thought he said something about he wouldn't re-sign here if the team was rebuilding again.
OK. I read that post a little different, but I see what you are saying. It seems (in general not you): - that people who want to trade LA jumped all over those statements that he would leave (if I recall right because he doesn't want to rebuild all over again) and said trade him now he is leaving, while people that wanted to keep LA said you have another year and he can always change his mind. -people who who want to keep LA jumped all over these recent statements and said no way you trade him, while those that want to trade him say those are just words and he can always change his mind.
That's exactly what I remembered as well. It's strange that the ones telling us to not get too excited about him saying he wants to stay, used that as "trade him now because he doesn't want to be here"
The difference Aldridge never said I want to leave, no matter what the Blazers do. The ones that wanted him traded definitely made it seem like "no matter what the Blazers do, he's going to bolt". Aldridge was just implying "I won't resign if we are just going to rebuild". Right now he is saying "I love where this team is going and want to finish me career as a Blazer"; which those that didn't want him to leave said all along. Just give him a team he believes is trying to win now.
This is such BS. Links to 1) where he said he wasn't going to re-sign here 2) where he admitted later that he had said that.
Could be. I've always said that I like LMA on this team and that we should do what we can to lock him up long-term. I've also said that my personal preference is not to leave yourself open to a UFA going away for nothing (a la 33 of the last 36 All-Star unrestricted free agents, iirc). Up until now, LMA had never made the Dirk or Duncan-level "I'm staying with the team until I retire" piece, or even the "as long as you pay me max, I'll sign here every time" thing. Again, totally his right to do so, and nothing held against him if he did leave, but until now he hadn't been that strong in his comments, and there have been multiple reports in the last few years (some behind the scenes, some for public consumption) that have given pause to the confidence that he'd resign here as long as the money was right. As I've said, I look forward to him retiring as a Blazer.
