I'm not worried at all that he'll leave. I don't believe he will. Andrew Wiggins is not good value for Lamarcus Aldridge.
There are only two guys in the league I'd consider trading LA for and that's AD and Lebron neither of which would ever happen
It would be so cool if Aldridge immediately signs the very first day we can sign him. We later learn that the condition is "Jason Quick and The Bald Dipshit Canzano" are not allowed press passes
I have been saying the team should do this for years. What's the Oregonian gonna do? They can't NOT cover the Blazers. They have zero leverage. The team doesn't have to give them credentials, so make them buy their own damn seats. Nobody reads the damn Oregonian anyway...
A player walking away is a danger that exists with any UFA. Let's start with the understanding, as in LMA's case, that the player in question is a major asset and someone the team wants to retain. Unless a GM knows, or strongly suspects, that the player is dissatisfied and intends to bolt, I think the smarter play is to do everything possible to be certain that the player remains satisfied. In LMA's case, he said last summer that he appreciated the Blazer's max offer and the way they went about presenting it to him, that he's happy in Portland and that he likes the idea of playing out his career here and becoming the best player in franchise history. To go with that he said that the smartest business move is to wait until this coming summer to sign a new deal. Since then, Olshey has done the best he could, given the team's cap situation, to add players that would give the Blazers the best chance of winning now. It didn't work out this year because of injuries, but I think LMA is smart enough to realize that. So, no, I don't think trading away your franchise player because you MIGHT lose him, makes sense unless you can be assured of getting back an asset of equal value that you are sure you want to build around. Nobody, that I can recall, put forth a reasonable trade that would accomplish that objective. If he walks, that's part of life. Olshey then has $18M or so more cap space to go dangle in front of another FA, or maybe he enters into a S&T to facilitate moving LMA and gets pieces back that he likes. Either way, it won't be the end of the world. And, BTW, I wasn't really one who roasted you last summer. Shoot, I don't even think you're a dumb-ass.
given that he will be a UFA and can sign where he wants that is very good value if he decided to leave as we could get NOTHING, however unless it is a 3-way trade no way in Hades would LMA agree to do a sign n trade with Minny
The thing is, his argument has been that he wants to win. If he leaves, it won't be because he wants to win or because he can get more money elsewhere. I think he'll leave because he wants to play in Texas, and that threat existed two years ago when Brian and I posted saying we thought we should trade him. If he says he's leaving because he wants to win, he's flat out lying because only a fool would blame our recent problems on being a bad team. Losing Wes was a huge blow to our roster, and then losing AA, and then watching pretty much everyone else on the roster deal with nagging injuries all season. This is a good team, so if he claims he's leaving to win, he's either lying to himself or to the fans.
If lamarcus wants to leave, I highly doubt he is going to just sign with someone else. Most players of his caliber get signed and traded so he still gets bird rights raises, and the team trading the star gets picks and young players. I don't think he leaves, I think we see him sign a two year max deal with the second year as a player option so he can cash in next year. If Aldridge wants money that's the smartest move. If Aldridge wants to win, the spurs are the only situation that might be better than us. And that's if pop promises to stay multiple years. Dallas is not better, Houston is a pipedream, the Lakers are not better and neither are theKnicks. It comes down to us or san Antonio imo
keep in mind that a sign and trade is not as attractive under this CBA then it was with the previous one Prior to the new CBA, a player could earn more money through a sign-and-trade. By re-signing with Bird rights with his old team and then forcing the trade, the player was able to get the hometown money and find a new location at the same time. This is no longer an option. The length and annual raises are limited to four years and 4.5%, respectively, just as they are for free agent contracts when a player signs with a new team. The primary motivation for the player is to get to a team with limited cap space.
I don't think SA is a better situation. Parker is finally showing his age. Manu is nearing retirement. Duncan can't play forever. Can they still sign LA and keep guys like Green? I think the Spurs are finally nearing a downturn, and I would hate for Aldridge to have to endure that. Then again, if he leaves us, I guess it would only serve him right.
What is the price of a plane ticket nowadays to a Millionaire? Must not be much as Lamarcus sold his Texas place a year or two ago. Unless it was a shack and you think he wants to upgrade then I doubt he is dying to live close to home. It is usually more of a distraction then it is worth.
The bolded part of what you said above is where I have a problem with it. You're operating on pure speculation. Olshey has talked with LMA countless times throughout the season. I think if he was legitimately concerned about LMA walking, he would have made the trade you guys were talking about. He didn't do that, so my supposition is that he likes the feedback LMA is giving him. Now we wait and see whether Olshey made the wise decision.
I should have phrased that better. I'm not saying he's going to leave. At this point I have no idea. Most of our speculation originally came about because the team was horrible. I'm saying I think that if he DOES leave, it will be to play closer to home. Not because of winning. If he says he left because of winning, I think it will be a total BS cop out.
Then with that speculation, I am almost certain he doesn't leave. My reason is he had a great opportunity to force Olshey's hand 2 summers ago.
I guess it could be an ego thing though. He could look at guys like Blake Griffin and think he would get more publicity if he was in a big market. LA has always been sort of an afterthought in Portland. He has never struck me as the fame seeking type, but who knows.
Well, I could see him feeling slighted in his early years in Portland, but then again, he doesn't seem like the type that is too concerned with that. I think he's more concerned with being respected by the coaches. He even said his style of play isn't the type that gets the national notoriety because he's not a high flyer. And honestly, most fans in Portland absolutely love him here. I know he sees this. For every blue9, there are a million mags!
