Sources: Aldridge pauses to mull teams' pitches
LaMarcus Aldridge currently has no plans to make out-of-town visits and, at this stage, plans to take “a couple of days” to digest all the pitches he’s received after meeting with multiple teams, sources told ESPN.com on Friday.
The Los Angeles Lakers got a second chance to impress Aldridge, their top free-agent target, on Thursday night in a meeting that lasted about 90 minutes and focused entirely on basketball, sources told ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne.
The Lakers had requested the second meeting after being informed that their first presentation to the star power forward had been coolly received because it focused too much on off-the-court business and marketing opportunities in Los Angeles for one of the NBA’s glamour franchises and not enough on how the team planned to use Aldridge on the court.
The Portland Trail Blazers are the only team Aldridge has played for in his NBA career, but sources have indicated he’s unlikely to return. Aldridge has also met with the Houston Rockets, San Antonio Spurs, Dallas Mavericks, Phoenix Suns, Toronto Raptors and Miami Heat, in addition to his two meetings with the Lakers.
One source with knowledge of both meetings told Shelburne it took more than an hour before the Lakers laid out a vision for rebuilding their roster and how Aldridge fit into that in the first meeting. The presentation also was wholly lacking in analytics, which appeared even worse after the analytics-minded Rockets followed them into the room Tuesday night.
After getting feedback on Aldridge’s reaction to their presentation, the Lakers requested and were granted a second meeting Thursday night. One source said they made a point of apologizing to the 29-year-old Aldridge for not giving a more well-rounded presentation and thanking him for giving them a second chance. In addition to general manager Mitch Kupchak and coach Byron Scott, they brought assistant coach Mark Madsen to the presentation. Madsen is the liaison between the coaching staff and the franchise’s analytics staff.
After meeting with the Lakers, Aldridge left for a dinner meeting with Heat president Pat Riley, a source told ESPN.com. The Heat’s foray into the Aldridge sweepstakes comes hours after the team agreed with Dwyane Wade on a one-year, $20 million contract. The Heat would have to shed significant contracts and players to clear enough room to make a maximum contract offer to Aldridge or work with the Blazers on a sign-and-trade likely involving Chris Bosh, which would be a complicated long shot. Nonetheless, Riley made his expected charming impression on the All-Star power forward, a souce told ESPN.com.
“Riley is good,” said the source.
One team apparently out of the Aldridge chase is the New York Knicks, as the veteran forward canceled his planned meeting with the team, according to reports.
The Suns began their effort to clear cap space to offer Aldridge a max contract by agreeing Thursday to trade three players to the Detroit Pistons in exchange for a future second-round pick.
Trail Blazers teammate Damian Lillard, who received his own contract extension in Portland on Thursday, tweeted this message:
We’ve built something great in #RipCity… Would love to continue that playing along side @aldridge_12 … Sure our team feels the same!
— Damian Lillard (@Dame_Lillard) July 1, 2015
According to a report from The Oregonian, Lillard is traveling to the L.A. area with the hope that he can meet with Aldridge directly and attempt to recruit him to stay in Portland.
The Spurs are regarded as the favorites to sign Aldridge, a source close to the situation told ESPN. But he is still considering the other teams as well as a return to the Trail Blazers and is said to be “torn” as the process continues to unfold.
ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne contributed to this report.
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