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Post by DiamondThief on Jul 4, 2015 9:53:10 GMT -8
July 4 -- Following a series of free agent courtships, Blazers free agent power forward LaMarcus Aldridge has announced, via twitter, that he will sign a four year contract with the San Antonio Spurs.
The Texas native's max contract will call for him to make approximately $80.9 over its duration.
Aldridge has played his entire nine-year career with the Blazers after being acquired via a draft day trade with the Chicago Bulls. He and Brandon Roy were brought in as rookies that season to bolster a franchise which had fallen into a lottery team and lost part of the fan base due to questionable signings and player character issues.
In signing with the Spurs, he turned down a max contract the Blazers could have offered him of five years, $108 million and a no trade clause. Aldridge is from Dallas and has a son who lives with his son's mother in San Antonio.
The Phoenix Suns, Dallas Mavericks, Toronto Raptors and Los Angeles Lakers also met with Aldridge during the free agency moratorium, which began at 9 p.m. (PT) on June 30. Aldridge -- and other free agents who have reached agreements with teams -- will be able to officially sign their contracts beginning at 9 p.m. on July 8.
Aldridge has career averages of 19.4 points and 8.4 rebounds and 1.0 blocks per game. He has averaged a double-double during each of the past two seasons in both the regular season and the playoffs. He is a four-time NBA all-star.
Aldridge is the fourth Blazer starter from the past two seasons who will be with a new team. Guard Wesley Matthews is expected to sign with the Dallas Mavericks and center Robin Lopez has reached an agreement with the New York Knicks. Forward Nicolas Batum was traded to the Charlotte Hornets on June 24 for guard Gerald Henderson and forward Noah Vonleh.
Point guard Damian Lillard is the lone returning starter on a Blazers team which also returns forward/center Meyers Leonard and guard CJ McCollum. Lillard and Leonard, both taken in the 2012 NBA Draft and number 6 and 11, respectively, now become the longest-tenured Blazers as they head into their fourth seasons.
The Blazers have already added forwards Al-Farouq Aminu (from the Mavericks) and Ed Davis (from the Lakers) via free agency. They also have acquired, via trades, center Mason Plumlee and rookie guard Pat Cannaughton from the Brooklyn Nets, and small forward Daniel Diez from the Utah Jazz.
The Blazers now have approximately $26- to $27-million in salary cap space to spend on additional signings or transactions this summer.
- ANM
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Post by newellbrian on Jul 4, 2015 10:04:35 GMT -8
He has yet to say anything about the past 9 years with the Blazers. Screw him. You don't say you wanna be the best Blazer ever, then leave because something happened that we have no control over (injuries). If he didn't make those comments last year, then it wouldn't be that big of a deal, but this just hurts in the absolute worst way possible. Aldridge will NEVER be in San Antonio what he was here. He will NEVER mean to the Spurs what he meant to the Blazers.
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Post by Kasey on Jul 4, 2015 10:12:32 GMT -8
we knew this could happen. it's unfortunate. even with Matthews, Batum and Lopez gone, we still could have put together a solid team. Aldridge was great in Portland, but family ties took him to Texas. not happy about it, but i'm not going to dwell on it either.
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Post by DiamondThief on Jul 4, 2015 10:18:23 GMT -8
He has yet to say anything about the past 9 years with the Blazers. Screw him. You don't say you wanna be the best Blazer ever, then leave because something happened that we have no control over (injuries). If he didn't make those comments last year, then it wouldn't be that big of a deal, but this just hurts in the absolute worst way possible. Aldridge will NEVER be in San Antonio what he was here. He will NEVER mean to the Spurs what he meant to the Blazers. People change their minds. It has been a year since he said that. He changed his mind and wants a championship. I do not think that would have happened here and He probably saw that. I am not going to criticize him or be angry. Look at the state of this team when he and Brandon got here. They did a while lot to bring this franchise back. I wish he would have stayed, but I do not consider him a liar for changing his mind. After all, would you rather play for a coach like Popovich or one like Stotts. I agree with my sister. Stotts is just not a good coach. I respect his decision and think for his family it is the right one for him. It would have to be to leave over $27 million on the table to leave. |
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Post by DiamondThief on Jul 4, 2015 10:30:01 GMT -8
Bright side: If we end up in the lottery, we will not have to send next year's 1st round pick to the Nuggets.
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Post by newellbrian on Jul 4, 2015 11:01:28 GMT -8
Bright side: If we end up in the lottery, we will not have to send next year's 1st round pick to the Nuggets. You know what's gonna happen, right? We tank, and we successfully get the #1 pick. He then gets injured and is out for the entire season. He then goes on to get hurt over and over and over and over again until we finally waive or trade him after 5 years or so. People compare him to Oden and Bowie all over again. |
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Post by DiamondThief on Jul 4, 2015 11:08:59 GMT -8
Bright side: If we end up in the lottery, we will not have to send next year's 1st round pick to the Nuggets. You know what's gonna happen, right? We tank, and we successfully get the #1 pick. He then gets injured and is out for the entire season. He then goes on to get hurt over and over and over and over again until we finally waive or trade him after 5 years or so. People compare him to Oden and Bowie all over again. I do not know that is going to happen. I predict we will be in the lottery for a year or two. If we are, we keep the pick in each year and we owe Denver two second rounders in 2018 and 2019. There is a lot of money for Olshey to play with. We will see what he does. On another note, this could clear the way to bring back Freeland, Kaman, Gee or Wright, or a comination of one or some of them. |
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Post by SurferGirl on Jul 4, 2015 11:43:31 GMT -8
This is not what I had hoped for at all. This is a complete rebuild now. There are going to be some lean years. I don't blame Aldridge, but I think it really hurts the Blazers. I had a bad feeling after Lopez's deal with New York and Matthews' deal with Dallas. The Blazers have blown up.
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Post by Yeseeka on Jul 4, 2015 12:02:15 GMT -8
I'm so not happy about this team right now. Fine, we have a few pieces, but we have taken a huge hit over the past week. Olshey says he has a plan. Let's see it. So far, it's been very, very disappointing.
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Post by Kasey on Jul 7, 2015 19:19:38 GMT -8
I'm so not happy about this team right now. Fine, we have a few pieces, but we have taken a huge hit over the past week. Olshey says he has a plan. Let's see it. So far, it's been very, very disappointing. the apparent plan is to let the team blow up and put it all on Damian. i'll be honest with you. he can't handle that. we're going into the lottery this year. there's no question about it. one draft pick is not going to make up for it. Olshey better have something in the works because as of now, his transactions and definciencies over the past year have been pathetic. |
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Post by newellbrian on Jul 8, 2015 9:49:15 GMT -8
I'm so not happy about this team right now. Fine, we have a few pieces, but we have taken a huge hit over the past week. Olshey says he has a plan. Let's see it. So far, it's been very, very disappointing. the apparent plan is to let the team blow up and put it all on Damian. i'll be honest with you. he can't handle that. we're going into the lottery this year. there's no question about it. one draft pick is not going to make up for it. Olshey better have something in the works because as of now, his transactions and definciencies over the past year have been pathetic. The trade for Afflalo was originally a good move. He really helped our bench like he was supposed to. But then Wes went down, and everything went to hell. |
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Post by Kasey on Jul 8, 2015 13:28:54 GMT -8
the apparent plan is to let the team blow up and put it all on Damian. i'll be honest with you. he can't handle that. we're going into the lottery this year. there's no question about it. one draft pick is not going to make up for it. Olshey better have something in the works because as of now, his transactions and definciencies over the past year have been pathetic. The trade for Afflalo was originally a good move. He really helped our bench like he was supposed to. But then Wes went down, and everything went to hell. my problem with that is that Arron was pretty much going to leave this summer anyway. He was still only a rental. |
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Graphic courtesy of David.