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LaMarcus Aldridge: Top 5 Free Agency Destinations

By Gerald Bourguet

Apr 27, 2015; Portland, OR, USA; Portland Trail Blazers forward LaMarcus Aldridge (12) before game four against the Memphis Grizzlies in the first round of the NBA Playoffs at the Moda Center. Mandatory Credit: Craig Mitchelldyer-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 27, 2015; Portland, OR, USA; Portland Trail Blazers forward LaMarcus Aldridge (12) before game four against the Memphis Grizzlies in the first round of the NBA Playoffs at the Moda Center. Mandatory Credit: Craig Mitchelldyer-USA TODAY Sports /
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LaMarcus Aldridge
Apr 15, 2015; Dallas, TX, USA; Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki (41) defends against Portland Trail Blazers forward LaMarcus Aldridge (12) during the first quarter at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports /

5. Dallas Mavericks

The only real appeal that we can see here is that Aldridge is from Dallas originally. Other than that, heading to the Mavericks would make absolutely no sense for a player who wants to win now.

Rajon Rondo, Tyson Chandler, Richard Jefferson, Charlie Villanueva, J.J. Barea, Greg Smith, Ricky Ledo and Amar’e Stoudemire are all set to become unrestricted free agents this summer. Al-Farouq Aminu will be opting out so he can earn more money as a free agent. Raymond Felton and Monta Ellis both have player options as well, though only Ellis is expected to test the market.

The point is, this team’s roster is in a state of flux with a ton of players looking for better deals somewhere else.

Of those free agents, the ones that Dallas will have the most interest in re-signing are Chandler, Barea and Aminu, who played himself into a nice new contract with his strong performance in the playoffs. But the Mavs would likely make Aldridge their top priority if ESPN’s Marc Stein is to be believed about his interest in heading home to Dallas.

So if that’s the case, how would Dallas’ frontcourt work, exactly? A frontcourt duo of Aldridge and Dirk isn’t stopping anybody, which is an even bigger problem since Nowitzki’s offense has rapidly declined over the last year. That means re-signing Chandler or another defensive center should be another top priority for the sake of having a semi-passable interior defense.

In that Nowitzki-Aldridge-Chandler trio, nobody’s capable of moving out to the wing. Dirk has said he’d come off the bench next season if need be, but from Aldridge’s perspective, how does heading home to Dallas move him closer to a title? Not only are the Mavs in the brutal West, but Dirk is in his twilight years and their backcourt of Rondo and Ellis is likely gone.

With the Mavs in need of a new star backcourt, Aldridge’s contract would suck up too much cap space for Dallas to be able to sign any talented guards and upgrade their status to “title contenders.” The Mavs aren’t locked into re-signing Tyson Chandler, but can they manage to land Aldridge AND another star free agent like DeAndre Jordan, who has been mentioned before?

Given Mark Cuban’s recent failed history in that respect, I don’t see the home run play being there for the Mavericks.

Next: No. 4