NBA: The LaMarcus Aldridge Free Agency Sweepstakes

With the free agent negotiation period set to begin at midnight on Wednesday and LaMarcus Aldridge the hottest commodity on the market, the Portland Trail Blazers are forced to sit back and watch the rumors swirl.

Depending on who you ask Aldridge is either staying with the Blazers. Or signing with the Mavericks. Or signing with the Spurs. Or signing with the Lakers. And then there was the time Aldridge was spotted in a Boston airport and of course there are the Knicks, who have the money, but little else to offer him.

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Aldridge has been noticeably and unsurprisingly quiet during this time period. But “league sources” have not.

Adrian Wojnarowski, the most well-respected and well-sourced NBA writer out there, went on FOXSports and made this as clear as mud:

Thanks for clearing that up, Adrian.

A quick spin around the NBA media landscape will keep things just as muddy.

Marc Spears, Wojnarowski’s colleague at Yahoo Sports and another well-respected NBA journalist, reported not only that Tim Duncan would join the Spurs in a hard push to lure Aldridge to San Antonio, but also that the Spurs were the favorite to sign him:

"Tim Duncan will join Tony Parker and Gregg Popovich as part of the San Antonio Spurs’ contingent when they meet with Portland Trail Blazers free agent LaMarcus Aldridge on Wednesday morning in Los Angeles, a source told Yahoo Sports.The Los Angeles Lakers, Houston Rockets and the Dallas Mavericks, Toronto Raptors and Phoenix Suns are among Aldridge’s suitors, but a source close to the situation said the Spurs are currently the frontrunner."

Spurs fans are rejoicing because Tim Duncan being involved at all may indicate that he’s considering playing at least one more season before retirement, and are salivating at the idea of pairing Aldridge and Duncan in the front court to ease the transition to Kawhi Leonard.

But, not so fast Spurs fans. NBA writer, Ric Bucher of Bleacher Report wrote that the Mavericks, not the Spurs were the favorite to sign Aldridge:

"Of his potential suitors, league sources indicate that the Mavericks are the biggest threat to pull Aldridge away from the Blazers, but it’s the general idea of returning to Texas, not a specific destination, that appeals to him."

Bucher also threw in this tidbit about Aldridge’s ties to a Mavericks assistant coach:

"Would the lure of joining forces again with his close friend and fellow Texan, Mavericks assistant coach Kaleb Canales, pull him in that direction?"

But if you go beyond Bucher’s headline, there was a lot of nuance in that piece, including this tidbit that would make any Blazers fan squirm:

"Aldridge did not respond to messages seeking comment, nor did Blazers GM Neil Olshey. But sources from both sides of their relationship confirmed two significant points: First, Aldridge isn’t feeling the same way he did last summer when he publicly stated his intention of signing an extension with the Blazers this summer; second, there isn’t a clear-cut better situation for him than what he has in Portland."

That’s both a good thing and a bad thing if you’re a Blazers fan. He’s obviously not committed enough to Portland’s long range vision to turn down all of these potential visits with other teams (a la Marc Gasol). And one of Bucher’s sources indicated why:

“LaMarcus feels, as all great players do, that wherever he goes he’ll have a great chance,” a source familiar with his thinking said. “But don’t think about this as what makes the most sense. He feels he’s been in Portland a long time and that maybe it’s time for a change. That’s what is driving this.”

“The uncertainty surrounding Wes changes everything,” one league executive said.

To add fuel to that fire, the Lakers have apparently bought in on Marc Stein’s report that Aldridge is as good as gone and have scheduled the very first meeting with LaMarcus at the very minute that it’s allowable:

Mike Bresnahan is the Lakers beat writer for the Los Angeles Times. Shortly before, his colleague, Ben Bolch was dispersing the rumors that he had heard.

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But that brings up a good point. Bolch is a Clippers beat reporter, reporting on a Portland player and his intentions to sign with the Lakers. If you are giving me the option to trust what Bolch is hearing compared to what Spears is hearing, than I’m probably leaning towards Spears.

But the reality is, that for each of these NBA writers, they are only hearing whispers from low level front office people or agency staff. You know, “sources that are familiar with the situation.”

There are no guarantees here and there is certainly plenty of misinformation. On that, Blazers’ GM Neil Olshey agrees.

As I mentioned, Aldridge has been unsurprisingly quiet as this whole situation has played out. Except through Neil Olshey, who at at recent press conference, essentially spoke for Aldridge when he said that the reports that Aldridge had indicated he would be leaving Portland were flat out incorrect:

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Let’s make something clear. There is absolutely nothing wrong with LaMarcus Aldridge taking meetings, considering all his options, and hell, even deciding to leave Portland for a different opportunity.

He has worked his ass off over his nine-year career to become one of the best power forwards in the NBA. I made the case he could even have been considered for All-NBA First Team this season and he arguably had a better season last year.

Aldridge has never gotten in trouble with the law, he’s never really said the wrong thing. He’s always regarded as a great teammate, professional athlete, and person. He deserves to decide how the last half of his career plays out. If he has options, it’s his personal responsibility to explore them.

And if he finds another opportunity that he prefers to continuing his career in Portland, whether it’s a better chance at an NBA Championship, or being closer to home and family, or that he’s just ready for a change, then that’s totally acceptable and understandable.

As Marc Spears indicated in his report that the Spurs were the favorite:

"Aldridge is from Dallas, but has an offseason home in Orange County, south of Los Angeles. His representation agency, Wasserman Media Group, is based in Los Angeles."

For Aldridge, there are links and reasons that could lead him to choose any of the potential destinations, but if I’m certain of anything right now, it’s that Aldridge is uncertain of where he’ll be playing next season at this point in time and the next few days will be interesting.

Next: Breaking Down the Blazers Salary Cap Situation

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