Sure if he is willing to take the risk. He always has a choice to sign for less. However, it's doubtful that he would leave serious money on the table. Keep in mind that we had to make moves for every dollar that Dwight was eligible for.
You gotta feel that Aldridge telling the Blazers explicitly that he wont be back helps our chances of getting him. Only way we get it done is through sign and trade, and this means that the Blazers will be on board for that kind of deal.
Only if we have something they want. Now they did just trade Batum which clears up an interesting hole at the 3.
Somebody did a terrible job at proof-reading that article: "Aldridge has played nine seasons with the Blazers, making the All-Star game in four of those five seasons."
Crazy how the Spurs have "rebuilt" while still being elite if they get Aldridge. Parker, Manu, Duncan to Leonard and Aldridge almost seamlessly.
Duncan is the only reason why it's worked for so long. That dude is Kareem incarnated with his longevity and leadership, willing to take a backseat for other players who would probably fail on other teams.
Here's another possibility - Portland realizes that they will get NOTHING when LMA leaves in free agency, so agrees to a sign and trade for LMA. The question then becomes - HOU or SA? I don't know which LMA prefers. I thought SA like everyone else, but DocRocket really seems to think LMA really wants HOU. Put this with the rumors back when we got Dwight that LMA was about to come to town, and Cyber telling us 2 months ago not to be surprised if LMA ends up in a Rockets uniform, that we at least have a shot.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Unless Duncan and Manu take insane discounts, I don't see a way SAS can give LMA a max w/o: 1) Letting Green walk; 2) Trading Splitter.</p>— Zach Lowe (@ZachLowe_NBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/ZachLowe_NBA/status/614172059002896385">June 25, 2015</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
RC Buford is probably the best GM for the last 10 years in the NBA. And their coach, whose probably a real ******* in real life, could be the greatest coach in the NBA history also.
McHale is going to have to do some coaching then and actually run plays for him. Not ISO stuff but actually run floppy or horns sets to get the ball into his hands.
Which I expect both will happen, letting Green walk isn't much of a big deal and trading Splitter may need to give away something but his contract should not be more difficult to get rid of than David Lee.
Tiago on a sign and trade is possible, Portland wanted him a few years back before Spurs signed him so that's a possibility. Losing Green is huge though, not a lot of 3&D guys at a reduced salary. Hard to replace
I said that weeks ago. The money isn't there. I wouldn't be surprised to see Manu retire anyway(unless he's willing to play for the vet's min). Duncan could conceivably accept less than 10 mil, but how low is he willing to go? 8 mil? Ok, that's possible. But is he willing to drop to as little as 5? Splitter would almost have to be moved since he makes 8 figures a season. But that of course begs the question of who plays center? Duncan would be stuck there full-time instead of just late in games as he's done for all of his career. And then of course, Green will be allowed to walk leaving the Spurs with less outside shooting. That's still a really good team, but not the shoo-in for the title some so-called experts would have you believe.
From LMA's point of view, there is absolutely zero reason for him to choose to leave Portland and go to the Mavs, because he is not getting more money, nor he will have a better chance to win. The Mavs has holes all over their roaster and any major free agent will not want to go there other than money. for the Rockets, the real issue for LMA will be : this is Harden's team, he for sure will not be the first option here and may not even be second as long as Dwight is here. One of the main reason for him to leave Portland : he felt like he was not getting enough "respects". So its hard for him to get much in here aslo. Coming to the Rockets will give people the same sense of feeling of Love went to the Cavs last year, well, we all know that did not went well for Love. Plus the fact that the style of the Rockets play, LMA is not a good 3 pt shooter, he could have issue to fit in. Going to the Spurs will be a totally different story, Kawhi will be a max player but he is not the type of vocal leader and LMA still will get a lots of respect if this team keep winning, the style of the Spurs playing, passing the ball will be a much better suit for his game also.
Danny Green played well under the Spurs system but that's all, the Spurs did the same thing to George Hill and then replaced him with Corey Joseph and Patty Mill. They are a top rated organization for a reason, they know whose a franchise player and whose a system player.
I agree about the Mavs. They've never made any sense. The only thing he'd get out of that is being back home. Less money, arguably less talent, and splitting time at the 4 with Dirk doesn't sound very enticing to me. The Spurs make more sense....depending on how much talent they'd have to sacrifice in order to create cap space for Aldridge. If they wind up losing Green, Splitter, and Manu in exchange for him, does that improve the team much from last season? I think marginally, but perhaps not enough to make them a favorite in the West. Especially if Duncan and Parker can't hold off Father Time for another season. As for the Rockets, they're similar to the Spurs in that it depends on what they'd have to sacrifice in order to make room under the cap for Aldridge. I'm not entirely sure what this whole issue is with him wanting more "respect". I know he was reportedly PO'd about not being the #1 marketed star in the Blazers organization the whole time he was there(Roy, Oden, and Lillard were prioritized over him). But will it be that different on any of the Texas teams? Dirk may be old, but he's still the face of the Mavs. Duncan, Kawhi, and Parker(and Manu if he sticks around) are the faces of the Spurs. Harden and Howard are the faces of the Rockets. If Aldridge wants his own team, he better pick a sh-tty one in a small market cuz he ain't getting it in the ironically named Lone Star State.
http://www.expressnews.com/sports/c...offseason-will-require-creativity-6338224.php If he wants to be there, he'll go there, they'll make it happen. They'll lose Green & Splitter in the process but probably worth it.
If LMA goes to the Mavs, he will be for sure become the no. 1 option and the face of the franchise moving forward, Dirk maybe the greatest Mavs ever but its the time for him to pass the torch. Similar situation if LMA will go to the Spurs, he and Kawhi will be the faces of the franchise moving forward and as I said, because of the personalities of Kawhi, LMA could even emerge as the leader of this team. The same can not be said for him to be in the Rox, if Harden will stay here for a long time (which at this point no reason to doubt it), for the rest of his (LMA) career, there is no reason not to believe that most of the credits will go to Harden (or Dwight, if that happens) if the Rox will ever win a championship again in the next few years. Winning a championship is important for him, but winning a championship just being the ride along, for his age now, may not be an attractive option comparing to what the Spurs can offer. BTW, many people and players actually believed the Spurs was a better team than the Rox last season also.
