Toronto Raptors: Taking A Shot At LaMarcus Aldridge

That’s it. That’s what I’m talking about. The Toronto Raptors need a franchise player and have never been able to snatch one up during offseasons past. In fact, they’ve rarely even been able to set up meetings with big-name free agents.

Now they have one. It was reported Monday that the Raptors are going to be among the teams that LaMarcus Aldridge will visit this summer as he mulls over his options and figures out the best place for him that’s not Portland.

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Sorry, Blazers fans. But you knew it was coming, right?

Aldridge is interested in Toronto as a possible destination because of their ability to pay him max money after their trade of Greivis Vasquez to Milwaukee. He also fills a major need that the Raps thirst for: an upgrade at the power forward spot.

Aldridge is one of the best players in the league, let alone power forwards. He rebounds, has size, has a great mid-range game and exudes serious star power that the Raptors are lacking. Sure, the pace of the game would likely slow down to accommodate Aldridge, but it’s not like the Raps were the seven seconds or less Suns. They were 21st in the league in pace this past season.

Replacing Amir Johnson in the starting lineup with someone so drastically improved would be a huge bonus for Toronto, especially after Amir’s down year. The pressure on guys like Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan would also be lessened, since more focus would instantly be given to Aldridge on the offensive end.

Despite having his hand injured for the latter part of last season, Aldridge still put up fantastic numbers. He averaged 23.4 points, 10.2 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.0 block on 46.6 percent shooting from the field. He even took a few more threes, showing he can stretch his range and shot 35.2 percent from deep on 1.5 attempts (a career-high) per game.

Toronto would be getting a guy who’s 29 years old. That can be a good thing as well as a bad thing. He’s still in his prime at the moment and will definitely have a number of great seasons remaining before his tires start to wear out.

But Toronto’s long-term plan is still somewhat unclear and Aldridge alone is not a perfect fix. Would Ujiri be able to make use of Aldridge’s last years in his prime? There’s no point in grabbing a player as talented as he is if the rest of the plan is to blow up the current team and try and grab assets for the future.

Fans don’t want to watch another Chris Bosh-esque few years in which the best player continuously carries the team and makes a few weak playoff runs.

Ujiri must know that. His current plan, of course, is still to make the team good right away while also grabbing building blocks for the future (such as Bruno Caboclo). So if Toronto does manage to somehow steal Aldridge, then expect a number of changes to the already-in-flux roster.

There are other places well suited to Aldridge and that might be able to offer him something better, like the Spurs or the Mavs. But it’s undeniable that Toronto is not a bad landing spot for the aging power forward.

Getting a meeting with him was the first step. The next is to make the perfect pitch. Masai has done a stellar job to this point. Let’s see how well he can sell the franchise.

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