In the hours that preceded the unofficial start to the season’s second half, another name was added to the list of trade rumors that is sure to expand ahead of the March 25 trade deadline.
According to head coach Gregg Popovich, the San Antonio Spurs and LaMarcus Aldridge have mutually agreed to part ways. The Spurs will look to find Aldridge a new home via the trade market. Should a deal fail to materialize before the deadline, a buyout seems all but inevitable.
“He’s been a great teammate. No problem there,” Pop explained before San Antonio’s game against the Mavericks during his virtual pregame media availability. “We just think this is a win-win for both LaMarcus and the club. When an opportunity arises, that’ll be up to management, his agent and that sort of thing, and we’ll all move forward.”
Lamarcus Aldridge’s time in San Antonio is dwindling to its end, but that doesn’t mean he can’t find another home elsewhere and make an impact.
It’s not hard to see how the two sides got to this point in their relationship. Though the Spurs are currently holding a playoff spot, their rotation speaks to the embrace of a youth movement with an eye towards the future. Three of their four most frequently-used players are no older than 24. Two players ages 26 and 25, respectively, are earning north of 20 minutes a night. Not in either category is Devin Vassell, San Antonio’s first lottery pick since Tim Duncan.
At 35 years old, Aldridge isn’t part of that long-term plan. And with the way his season has played out, a first glance would indicate it doesn’t look like he can be much of a significant factor of someone else’s.
13.7 points per game represent Aldridge’s fewest since his rookie season way back in 2006-07. 4.5 rebounds a night is a new career-low. Zoom in a bit closer, however, and you’ll realize that those underwhelming numbers are a product of circumstance, where LA is getting the fewest minutes and putting up the lowest amount of shots per game since his first season in the league.
On a per-36 minute basis, Aldridge’s rebounding numbers are still down. However, he’s scoring at a rate similar to the one that made him a seven-time All-Star and five-time All-NBA selection.
Of course, no team considering bringing in Aldridge will ask him to lead the team playing anywhere near 36 minutes a night. After 14 seasons, Aldridge is looking at a role spent primarily coming off the bench with spot starts when necessary, a difficult adjustment he made in his last three appearances with the Spurs.
“It’s definitely a different task coming off the bench and not having the first few minutes to get loose and kind of find a rhythm,” Aldridge said after he shot 3-of-10 for 11 points against OKC in his first game coming off the bench on Feb. 24. “So, I’m still figuring that out. It wasn’t perfect tonight and I don’t think it’s gonna be perfect for a while. It’s gonna take some time for me to figure it out.”
A player with almost 1,000 career starts under their belt might not like what many would view as a demotion. But as we’ve seen with a buyout guy like Nicolas Batum and are hoping to see from Blake Griffin, some players just get to a point in their careers where less might mean more. And it appears Aldridge has reached that stage.
He is no longer capable of routinely scoring 20 points a night, but we’re still talking about a player who remains one of the best at the skills he’s honed over more than a decade independent of how long he’s out there for.
Aldridge has converted 57.2 percent of his mid-range jumpers so far this season, ranking third among players with at least 100 attempts. Position him in his customary left block against lesser second-unit defenders and the points are sure to follow.
A career 31.7 percent 3-point shooter, he’s even expanded his range to shoot 37.9 percent from distance since the beginning of last season to ensure his minutes are conducive to the success of a modern NBA team.
His reputably subpar defense didn’t improve with age. According to Cleaning The Glass, San Antonio has surrendered 9.3 points more per 100 possessions with Aldridge on the court this season. The lowest that number has been in the last three years is plus-1.1, which would only rank in the 41st percentile.
But in fewer minutes ideally matching up against opposing bench players, his defensive woes aren’t as big of a concern. Such is the beauty of accepting a lesser role.
With limited money and even fewer attractive options, teams can only be so selective when filling out their bench or the complementary pieces around their stars. So when a player still as talented as Aldridge can be acquired for pennies on the dollar — the Spurs aren’t exactly working from a position of strength with an expiring contract they’ve now publicly stated they hope to separate from — front offices across the league would be smart to capitalize with a full understanding of the risk/reward scale tipping heavily in their favor.
The Spurs might not have felt a need for Aldridge at this point, but that says more about an organizational direction that’s slowly changed in recent years than it does about Aldridge at this point in his career.
The art of shooting doesn’t go out of style with age, which is why their loss will most certainly be another team’s gain looking for a leg up in a playoff race that’s crowded in both conferences.