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Are The Los Angeles Lakers A Landing Spot For LaMarcus Aldridge?

By Jackson Sanders

Apr 15, 2015; Dallas, TX, USA; Portland Trail Blazers forward LaMarcus Aldridge (12) warms up prior to the game against the Dallas Mavericks at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 15, 2015; Dallas, TX, USA; Portland Trail Blazers forward LaMarcus Aldridge (12) warms up prior to the game against the Dallas Mavericks at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports /
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Apr 15, 2015; Dallas, TX, USA; Portland Trail Blazers forward LaMarcus Aldridge (12) warms up prior to the game against the Dallas Mavericks at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 15, 2015; Dallas, TX, USA; Portland Trail Blazers forward LaMarcus Aldridge (12) warms up prior to the game against the Dallas Mavericks at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports /

The Los Angeles Lakers have an insatiable hunger for superstars. Players that can put those celebrity fans in the seats, grab all of the headlines, and give the team a legitimate shot at winning the NBA title. It’s in their history, and it’s clear that they have no intention of deviating from what has been a successful formula — regardless if the NBA landscape is changing or not.

LaMarcus Aldridge is not a superstar, but he’s close. He has been a 20 points per game scorer for the past five seasons, but that hasn’t gotten him the attention that many of his less established peers enjoy.

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Maybe it is because he plays in Portland, one of the smaller media markets in the NBA. Small market stars aren’t automatically precluded from the national spotlight (see: Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook), but it’s not like Aldridge is doing commercials as a fake lawyer for Sprint Wireless or this weird runway model thing for True Religion.

LaMarcus Aldridge is simply not a guy in the national eye all that often, outside of the occasional prime-time basketball game.

An additional factor could be the Trail Blazers’ inability to piece together a deep playoff run (mostly due to injury, to be fair) that can showcase the offensive powerhouse they trot out at power forward.

Because he’s unfortunately never been a part of a truly great team in a crowded Western Conference, and his co-stars always seem to find themselves hobbled on the sidelines, the Trail Blazers’ franchise player is lacking a high-stakes playoff series on his résumé.

Regardless of the reason, it feels like LaMarcus Aldridge has been nationally under appreciated over the entirety of his career. Couple these feelings with the gut-wrenching emotion of an early playoff exit, and it’s easy to see why Portland fans are starting to get a bit anxious about their All-Star forward leaving in free agency this summer.

If LaMarcus Aldridge hits the open market, the star-hungry Los Angeles Lakers will be waiting. They will be one of the many teams to offer Aldridge a variety of things unavailable to him during his nine-year career in Portland, including unparalleled media opportunity.

For a 21-61 team, pursuing a talent like LaMarcus Aldridge is a no-brainer. His addition would be an improvement for the Lakers in many aspects — upgrading your power forward from Jordan Hill/Carlos Boozer to LaMarcus Aldridge is like trading in a 10-years-used Honda Accord for a brand-new Lamborghini — but, does the match work for both sides?

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