That's ballsy but really dangerous. If Aldridge turns them down, they'll have no center and will be forced to pay a lot of money just to bring back last year's aging squad(sans Splitter) assuming they even have the capspace to do that.
I'd rather have him in LA than SA long-term. Once Duncan is gone, a core of Aldridge/Leonard won't win anything.
I would rather Aldridge in SA than LA. The Spurs do things the right way, they do not take any short cuts and develop and draft well. The Lakers organization is garbage. They are arrogant and think that everyone wants to live and play in LA with all the smog, rude people and trash. The Lakers need to learn that you don't get to do things the wrong way for a decade and then just decide to fix it over night. LaMarcus will help the Spurs assuming he goes there, but they still have some serious issues with players like Parker, Duncan and Gino. The hope in SA is that Leonard, Aldridge and Green can pick up the slack. I don't know that the Spurs would necessarily be a guarantee to make the Finals.
I never understand free agents logic, is it the location?, rockets have the most upside and were literally one star away. Harden is young and literally top 3 best player in the league and howard even if he doesn't produce much is going to beba rebounding and defensive machine. Why would alridge pick a place like SA where it's fading stars or LA where it's much of the same. People get way to attached to franchise histories
Not necessarily true. The Rockets traded Lin AND a 1st before we knew about Bosh. This is just a sign of good faith. "We've got cap room (Splitter trade), a great team to surround you with (Leonard & Green signed) and a system that fits you (mid-range game)." It's going to be very hard for any team to compete with that.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">I have to go make a sandwich. I am afraid to go make a sandwich.</p>— Zach Lowe (@ZachLowe_NBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/ZachLowe_NBA/status/616274023945781248">July 1, 2015</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
They have most of their core. Splitter was their starting center. Who steps in to play there? Duncan? That's risky at age 39. Also, what about their bench? That's a great starting five even with Duncan having to play center and Parker aging. But wouldn't Manu have to take a paycut? What about Belinelli, Bonner, and Joseph? Can they afford any of them? Remember, the Spurs bench was huge for them last season. They were the reason the Rockets blew those big leads against them in those last 2 regular season games. And they were the reason the Spurs were able to take it to 7 games against the Clippers.
I know you guys hate the spurs but gotta give this to them. respect. These moves are more impressive than any powerpoint la put infront of him.
Meh I would say it is pretty close honestly. The Spurs have a number of older players that they are counting on. What the Spurs DO have is a coach and front office that has won titles and a team that knows what it takes. The Rockets front office knows what they are doing, and the team is very good, but this group has never actually won.... and I am sure that matters when you are 29 years old and want to maximize your shot at a title. FWIW I think Aldridge in Houston or SA would make them favorites in the West.
Plus they'll have to move Diaw to make room for LMA. Center and PG turn into huge question marks if Tony Parker plays anything like last season, IMO.
The Spurs are the most consistently good franchise in NBA history only missing the playoffs 5 times in franchise history.....47 years.
According to my quick and dirty numbers, as of right this minute, the Spurs have ~27m for Aldridge, Duncan and Ginobili.
Spurs have kept their bets on bargain deals for years and haven't lost step for almost two decades. But I am not that disheartened about LMA. We have a good core and if Llull and Bev sign, we have a lot of depth goin forward with our own core and a chance to add a marquee next year. We can also go get some value deals and make some minor moves to build depth. I'm OK with this.
It doesn't matter. They'll find some big white kid or some Euro that'll step in at the minimum and be perfectly serviceable. Like they do every year.
