Asked earlier this week by a fan which former teammate he’d like to add to the Trail Blazers‘ current roster, Damian Lillard named Spurs big man LaMarcus Aldridge. That tweet – sent from Portland’s official Twitter account – was soon deleted, but not before Aldridge replied to it with an eyeballs emoji.
Speaking to Michael C. Wright of NBA.com, Aldridge downplayed the significance of his response, but acknowledged that he wouldn’t necessarily be opposed to the idea of returning to Portland and finishing his career with the Trail Blazers. He also diplomatically didn’t rule out the idea of remaining with the Spurs for the remainder of his career.
“I think either one would be fine with me. I feel like I’ve made some good memories in San Antonio. I feel like I’m in a really good family in San Antonio. They understand me. I understand them. So, I like that,” Aldridge said. “I feel I have a lot of history in Portland. So, going back there to finish would be fine also. I’m perfectly fine with finishing my career in San Antonio riding it out until my next chapter, or if things have to change there, and if (the Spurs) decide to go young, then I wouldn’t mind going to (the Trail Blazers).”
Here’s more from around the Southwest:
- Appearing on the McNeil & Parkins Show on 670 The Score in Chicago, Mavericks owner Mark Cuban was evasive when asked whether the Bulls have asked to interview Michael Finley for a front office position. However, he said he’d grant Chicago permission to speak to Finley if asked. Finley was identified last week as a potential candidate for the Bulls’ GM opening.
- As Kelly Iko of The Athletic details, the Rockets only played 14 games after trading away Clint Capela before this year’s trade deadline. That small sample size could be problematic, especially if the season doesn’t resume, since the Rockets will have to make offseason decisions based on whether or not they feel the center-less lineup is a viable approach going forward.
- William Guillory of The Athletic examines the role that Pelicans vice president of basketball operations Swin Cash has played in her first year with the franchise and the impact she has had on the team’s young players.
Not sure if it’s possible but could they trade Hassan Whitesides expiring deal and Nassir Little for Aldridge and a second?
Spurs would let Whiteside walk and open up a load of cap space, then they could chase Malik Beasley or Harry Giles. Plus Nassir Little would be a nice project player for Pop.
Blazers get their man and would have a solid playoff team for next year.
Lillard McCollum Ariza Aldridge Nurkic with Simons Hood Melo Swanigan Collins off the bench
They could do sign n trade. But Spurs ain’t paying big money for Whiteside. Don’t see Whiteside ever getting big money again. He’s solid rim protector when he wants to play. Aldridge is still a solid big. Definitely would fit nice with Blazers. Spurs would probably want some young talent or picks. I think it’s time for Spurs to go some kind of rebuild. They have a lottery pick this yr. So moving Aldridge for young talent. Is probably a good idea.
Yeah that’s the thing to make the deal work you need Whiteside to go to spurs but no one is paying him big money so a sign and trade wouldn’t work. Could you trade the last months of his deal or trade his rights or something in order to use his 28mil expiring deal in the deal
And yeah Nassir Little and a second round pick would be a decent enough return probably
LMA is a negative asset, he had a pretty bad season this year, unlike DDR he had one of the best seasons of his career, so SAS can get a good return from DDR, for LMA they probably will have to be the ones giving for anyone to take him, Whiteside had an excellent season this year, should had been an all-star!