With the Portland Trail Blazers season now over, all of the attention will now go towards unrestricted free agent LaMarcus Aldridge who will be arguably the biggest prize in free agency this off-season. Recent rumors have suggested that the chances of Aldridge leaving might be greater than him staying in Portland.
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Aldridge will have no shortage of suitors once free agency begins and according to ESPN’s Marc Stein, there may be mutual interest between Alridge and the Dallas Mavericks and San Antonio Spurs:
But the consistent word on the personnel grapevine at the minute informs us that San Antonio and Dallas not only both believe they have a real shot at signing him but are also legitimately in Aldridge’s thoughts.
Stein also notes that the Los Angeles Lakers will be one of many teams in pursuit of Aldridge:
The Knicks and Lakers, of course, also intend to enter the bidding. And there will surely be others.
The competition for Aldridge will be fierce. He is a four-time All-Star who averaged 23.8 points and 10.4 rebounds this past season and is widely considered one of the premier power forwards in the NBA.
The question for the Lakers will be how can they convince Aldridge to spurn other offers to come to Los Angeles. Portland is still largely in the mix and can offer the most money, and the Texas teams offer playoff squads who provide a proximity to Aldridge’s Dallas hometown. The Lakers will undoubtedly pursue him, but getting Aldridge to join the Lakers will be quite a challenge.
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