This has been a very strange 'courting' of LMA - literally no mention by a majority of the major networks, little news coming out from Cyber, and Morey basically conceding that a major move is slim. I tend to think he will go to LA but damn...how can you not mention Houston as an enticing destination?? Also, with news about Bev, if he gets 9 MM, I think we can parlay that into a S&T to a 3rd team, leaving I believe another 10-ish MM in salary we would need to move out in Portland S&T, correct? Could circumvent need to move Ariza...
Don't forget most of the media picked the rockets to finish as a 7th or 8th seed at the beginning of this last season and look how that turned out for them. So you kinda have to take whatever idiots like Chris Broussard say with a grain of salt. Houston gets little respect by the media always.
Marc Spears: What is LaMarcus looking for? Talent? Location? Winning certainly helps. Who has won more than SA? Spurs pulling out all the stops. He fits what they need. It'd be hard for him to turn down SA. A little known key that could help them(Lakers) get LaMarcus is Robin Lopez, fellow teammate and free agent. He'd like to join him and vice versa. LaMarcus would like Lopez along side him. If I'm a team, and have room for a center, I'm calling Robin right now too because I think that will help. If not LaMarcus, where does LA stand with Monroe? Knicks/Lakers are meeting with him. A little under the radar in Detroit. He's that next tier. Love, Aldridge then it goes to him. If a guy like LaMarcus is off the board quick, and if DeAndre is off the board quick, if I'm Monroe, I'm patient. Sit back and chill for a minute. It'll come to him. Kevin Love? I'd be shocked if he left. Knicks couldn't get a meeting. It'll be hard to walk away from that 5th year and a team that went to the Finals. I'm sure he has something he wants to prove to help get Cleveland over the hump. There is no other team that could offer winning like Cleveland & LeBron James. DeAndre Jordan? Keep an eye on Dallas. He had dinner with them last night. His agent Dan Fegan is close to Mark Cuban. They also share Chandler Parsons. When it's said and done, he'll have that last meeting with LA. I think he and Chris are fine. Chris wants him to be a superstar. Chris is in the right place to push him and I think if he wants to be an all-star, make free throws, he needs Chris to push him. Chris is trying to bring the best out of him. It's open-minded with DeAndre right now. Could he stay in LA with the Lakers? If they could get a commitment from LaMarcus, it would make it more attractive to DeAndre but Dallas is the biggest competition. Rajon Rondo? Sacramento is very aggressive. No offer yet but want him to visit. He's close to Rudy Gay. There's been a lot of drama in Sacramento. Rudy will be honest with him. If they can settle things down, get Cousins to be OK, which I'm not sure at this point, Rondo can still play this game and revive his career. Karl would bring a lot of good out of Rondo and let him freelance. Dust has to settle. Rondo could be excellent and they were interested in trading for him before.
Since Beverley would be signed and traded and he's getting more than a 20% raise, then he counts only 50% of his new salary for trade purposes for the Rockets.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Which team will land LaMarcus Aldridge? <a href="http://t.co/QtWys9XuPh">http://t.co/QtWys9XuPh</a></p>— NBA TV (@NBATV) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBATV/status/616219374630797312">July 1, 2015</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Im not worrying about Rolo attracting lma because i know that as soon as (tonight) kidd gets denied by monroe he will be the no.1 target and get offered 12-14 per. Lets see if the lakers can pony up as much when they want to also max lma. Also Boston and Portland want him.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Hear the latest from <a href="https://twitter.com/SpearsNBAYahoo">@SpearsNBAYahoo</a> on LaMarcus Aldridge. <a href="http://t.co/gaBWWv9cBM">http://t.co/gaBWWv9cBM</a></p>— NBA TV (@NBATV) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBATV/status/616222757710204928">July 1, 2015</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Not at all. In Texas LaMarcus would not have to pay taxes. At least 55% less. He would have to pay anyways for those road games out of the State.
I may have missed it but i didn't see any post-meeting tweets after our time with LMA. Anyone tweet out feedback like how long or meeting went or reaction from our people in terms of how it went?
There was one tweet from Sam Amick, who said nothing. "The Rockets also met with LaMarcus Aldridge." 1:10am: Meanwhile, the Lakers just concluded their meeting with LaMarcus Aldridge, I'm told. 4:10am: And yes, the Rockets folks met with LaMarcus Aldridge tonight in LA as well. His sked, and by association our sked, continues tomorrow...
I'm sure it must feel nice to have all these rich guys begging and waiting to spend time with you. No wonder all these players opt for free agency.
They got adam levine campaigning for them sending him photos with aldridge lakers jerseys. They are friends.
