I think he decided he didn't want another rebuild after the window closed from Wes injury. He had been through Roy and Oden rebuilds. He also liked the idea of playing in his hometown state of Texas and a team with legends begging him to come. Maybe he was a bit jealous of Dame too. If they had the current CBA he would've extended the summer prior and we wouldn't have lost him. Turns out the move to SAS didn't help his legacy. He is in the conversation as maybe the 8th best Spurs of recent times after Robinson, Elliot, Duncan, Avery, Parker, Ginobili, Kawhi. He might be behind a number of others too. I just don't think he's full of himself like he was previously. If I'm wrong and he wants a guarantee role/touches/etc don't try to get him. I got over LaMarcus leaving awhile ago. It wasn't close to as bad as Drexler leaving. Heck I might be more mad at the way Roy or Miles left.
If it came down to it I’d rather wait a year and sign him in free agency next year. He’ll be 36, maybe we can get him with the MLE.
yeah he won’t walk again and I think his game is aging similarly to Gasol, who was an all star at 35 and an effective player through his age 37 season. I think aldridge has three more good seasons in him.
i feel like pau extended his career by embracing becoming a center. not sure LA would do that, or would have to here.
In the modern NBA, Aldridge is a center. That's just a fact. He'd be an upgrade over Whiteside as a backup, but honestly is he really ok with not starting AND playing a position he's traditionally bitched about playing?
Well he played a lot of C already this season having career highs in blocks and 3s which isa great combination.
It's old news>>>He is from Texas and his work is in Texas; so he has no importance to the team from Oregon.
It’s not a fact. Jakob Poeltl and Trey Lyles have split starting center assignments this season, and Poeltl was the starting center down the stretch last season. And if you think it’s just a quirky technicality, it’s not. According to the leagues official tracking, Aldridge has spent over 43% of his minutes defending power forwards (42% centers, the rest switched onto the perimeter.) Offensively it leans even further towards the four.
That's true. I can easily imagine him not being happy about it, and rather than confront the fact that he's a center, start putting feelers out to other teams. Like Portland. He strikes me as a "grass is always greener" kind of guy. But hey, if there's anyone who can get his head in the right place to accept his role, it's probably Dame. After all, he's got lots of practice. LMA is 35 next year. There are only 11 guys in the league that old this year. No matter what happens next year, he's not getting a starting PF job unless he's a complete salary dump to a tanking team.
Looks like LA is trying to extinguish the flames, but the damage is done. Fans will be on edge from here out, or maybe they won't. That team, IMO, doesn't have a young player with the "IT" factor. They will soon be rebuilding. I wouldn't trade Zach for him, but if the Blazers could acquire LA somehow, i'm for it. Dude still has an unbelieveable mid range game. I can forgive him for bolting.
I don't think Spurs fans will care much. First of all he's under contract so any decision on a trade is up to the Spurs. Either the Spurs trade LMA because the team thinks it makes them better or they don't. Either way the Spurs road to one day contending again is based on their current youth improving or acquisitions of better players. LMA staying or going doesn't change the direction of the Spurs franchise.
There’s too much smoke around aldridge coming back, so I don’t buy that it was just a joke. The real question is how does Olshey make it happen, assuming he even wants to make it happen. Because if they’re sold on Collins as a power forward, it would make sense to at least give that a real look before pivoting to other options.
