The Portland Trail Blazers will be going through some big changes this offseason and they already seem to have started. Earlier today, they shipped Nicolas Batum to the Charlotte Hornets in exchange for Noah Vonleh and Gerald Henderson. Now, reports are coming out of Portland that LaMarcus Aldridge has a 99.9% chance of leaving Rip City.
The sentiment comes after a brewing under-appreciation the organization has showed towards the big man, in comparison to All-Star Damian Lillard and the fact that he feels the team can’t attract big stars to join the cause. Pair that with the fact that the Trail Blazers have only moved on beyond the second round one year since Aldridge joined the team and you get the feeling he’shad enough and needs a change of scenery.
Most are speculating he will return home to Texas, with the San Antonio Spurs being the best fit, but the Los Angeles Lakers are moving ahead of teams like the Dallas Mavericks and Houston Rockets to pursue him heavy in free agency.
Aldridge would leave close to $109 million over five years if he leaves Portland (the max the team can offer) and would make around $81.2 million over four years that other teams can offer.
If he does bolt, the Trail Blazers will be looking like a very different squad, as both Wesley Matthews and Robin Lopez are set to become unrestricted free agents as well. The team will probably be looking for their next big man in the draft with the No. 23 pick.
ESPN's LaMarcus Aldridge latest: Batum trade only latest signal of Aldridge's likely departure and sources say Lakers are moving up his list
— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) June 25, 2015
ESPN sources say Lakers appear to be passing Dallas on list of likely destinations for Aldridge should he leave POR. San Antonio still No. 1
— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) June 25, 2015