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As the NBA offseason heats up, we’re getting more and more of an idea about where the big-name free agents will end up, and LaMarcus Aldridge is leading the way in that discussion. After it was initially reported the San Antonio Spurs were atop his wish list, that report then changed to the Dallas Mavericks as his most likely landing spot. Now the Spurs are No. 1 again for the prized power forward and that’s pretty telling.
ESPN sources say Lakers appear to be passing Dallas on list of likely destinations for Aldridge should he leave POR. San Antonio still No. 1
— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) June 25, 2015
Not surprisingly, it was also reported that the Los Angeles Lakers and New York Knicks are “in the hunt” for Aldridge’s services with the Atlanta Hawks and Cleveland Cavaliers listed as “long shots.”
With any big-name free agent these days, you almost have to assume the two biggest markets are possibilities as well as whatever team LeBron James is on. Dallas is included because Aldridge is from there; Atlanta is an option because the Hawks will always have a chance to contend in the pathetic Eastern Conference.
While the Mavs certainly make sense for Aldridge from a chance-to-win-a-ring standpoint, the main selling point for them is the chance to come home. The Lakers and Knicks offer nothing but branding opportunities, Cleveland provides the chance to become the next NBA villain and Atlanta would make Aldridge its No. 1 option on an average team.
Then there are the Spurs, the perennial title contenders who have never signed a big-name free agent in the Tim Duncan era for several reasons, the primary of which doesn’t apply to Aldridge: He fits their system.
Aldridge can be described as a relatively traditional big man with great fundamentals and unrivaled talent on both ends of the floor. Sound familiar?
Even though the national media has been discussing a replacement for Duncan for almost a decade, the time has actually come now for that to happen and, put simply, Aldridge is the closest thing there is and probably ever will be.
With Duncan and Manu Ginobili reportedly both coming back for one last hurrah (or a few) at discounted prices, the Spurs would have at least one season with their same Big Three still intact plus superstar-in-the-making Kawhi Leonard and Aldridge. Add in their incredible bench players, and San Antonio would arguably be the favorite to win the NBA title in 2015-16.
If Aldridge wants the glitz and glamour of the big market, he can choose L.A. or New York and probably never win a ring. If he’s who the Spurs think he is, he’ll join an organization that is the best in the world at home growing talent and retooling on the fly, which means the chance to win a championship every year.
Even after Duncan and Ginobili are gone, Tony Parker, Aldridge and Leonard would make one heck of a “New Big Three” that could keep the Spurs’ success train rolling for at least another half decade.
So it really boils down to whether or not Aldridge wants a legitimate shot to win multiple rings right out of the gate with his new team or if he’s more concerned with making extra money from endorsements in a big city. But based on this latest report that the Spurs’ are again the team for which he most wants to play, it sounds like Aldridge is going to make the wiser choice. After all, who could turn down this Texas-sized offer?
.@aldridge_12 Come home fam. We’ve got Whataburger waiting for you.
— Whataburger® (@Whataburger) June 25, 2015
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