MARCH 28: The Nets have officially signed Aldridge, the team announced today in a press release.
Brooklyn will have a cap hit of around $555K and Aldridge will earn $878K, according to Bobby Marks of ESPN (Twitter link).
MARCH 27: The Nets will be the next stop for free agent big man LaMarcus Aldridge, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Aldridge’s agent, Jeff Schwartz confirmed the deal, Woj adds (Twitter link). It will be a veteran’s minimum deal for the rest of the season, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
Aldridge just cleared waivers after agreeing to a buyout with the Spurs on Thursday. He reportedly gave up $5.8MM in that arrangement, which is more than he will get paid in Brooklyn. However, he will have the chance to compete for a title with a franchise that can surround him with star teammates.
Brooklyn has a roster spot open, so no move will be necessary before Aldridge can sign. The Nets are already huge winners on the buyout market, having also added Blake Griffin earlier this month.
Aldridge is likely to see most of his minutes at center, according to Wojnarowski (Twitter link). Brooklyn has been searching for help in the middle ever since parting with Jarrett Allen in the January deal to acquire James Harden.
Aldridge’s decision comes as somewhat of a surprise, especially in Miami, where the Heat were thought to be the front-runners to sign him. Miami had received indications that it had a good chance to land Aldridge, tweets Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. An associate of Aldridge told Jackson that the veteran big man chose the Nets because he believes they’re in position to contend for a title. The Heat’s current six-game losing streak likely affected his decision (Twitter link).
Aldridge, 35, saw his playing time reduced this year as San Antonio opted for a younger lineup. He hasn’t played since March 1 while the Spurs tried to make a trade, but no suitable offers were received before Thursday’s deadline. Aldridge averaged 13.7 points and 4.5 rebounds in 21 games before being shut down.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Avengers, assemble! Lol
So much fact in this statement
He just needs to remove water in the tank
Brooklyn! I know there are a lot of haters out there, but the fan-base has earned this after waiting almost 50 years since Dr. J brought us a ring. I was too young to remember when it happened.
Agreed. So many of basketball’s roots come from Brooklyn. Great for the city and great for their fans.
Coming from a Grizz fan.
Had earned what? 35 yr old LaMarcus Aldridge? Lol
The nba today is so soft, it’s laughable
Yeah maybe they should penalize the buyout. Maybe players only get 10% of the contract. Doesn’t make for good comp when a player bails on his contract mid season to join the championship favorite.
The San Antonio Spurs saved 5.8 million dollars. It’s good for them.
Not my point. Players with significant skill backing out of contracts to join champ contenders mid season is bogus.
Define “significant skill” lol
Can’t understand a simple concept? Skill above average.
Yeah I get the concept I’m just not sure what player or players you are talking about?
But the Spurs and Aldridge mutually agreed to part ways. Different story if Aldridge was creating noise and the Spurs just wanted him out, but by all accounts, the Spurs had little intention of playing him going forward and agreed to try to move him via trade first.
Its funny how when players want out of their deal/be moved to a different team, “fans” rush to crucify them but if a team cuts, trades, or waives a player that is unused/injured/underperforming its “good riddance”.
Aldridge hasn’t had significant skills for years.
Still owns the mid range and can shift in the post.
Another player who is in his prime severed ties with his team to take his place on the Spurs, so what’s your point? I’ve seen fellow Nets’ fans post that they would’ve preferred Dieng to Aldridge, but I have no problem with someone looking to be part of a championship team. It’s not bogus. It’s business. About six years ago, if people told you aging stars would take minimum contracts to play for the Nets, you would have laughed at them.
Eventually the NBA will fix the buyout market. Simple way to do so: bought-out players are ineligible for playoff rosters during the season they are bought-out.
Then we will have more trades! And we can stop waiting until the freaking last day of the deadline and more GMs will be forced to make moves earlier. Which will be better for this site.
How in the world are you going to trade LaMarcus Aldridge and his 18 million-dollar salary? Who does Brooklyn give back? In other words the trade doesn’t happen, just as we saw in the last two weeks.
The buyout Market is fine but not perfect as many suggest here. But it works for now. Spurs save some money, Aldridge joins a team in need of reinforcements for the stretch run. I don’t see a huge problem.
Gary that is the point of the salary cap. So that a team can’t just act the Dodgers and buy whoever they want. If the Nets cannot afford someone like Aldridge under the cap, then they should have to make do with a cheaper option.
Saving money for one franchise at the expense of 28 others is not good for the league.
But whats the difference between a buyout and a team cutting/waiving a player? Nothing except that the team saves money in a buyout. If the Spurs just cut Aldridge, would all of yall have the same opposition to this move? Or is it only because the word “buyout” is attached to it?
I mean let’s look at both Drummond and Aldridge’s buyout situations. In both situations, the team wasn’t going to play them going forward. So their only options are to either sit on the bench the rest of the year or ask for a trade/release so they can try to play or chase a ring. No trade happens so the player asks for his release. In exchange for their release, the team asks them to give up some money.
Or buyout players can only join teams that are not top 4 seeded teams.
Why? Is Aldridge joining the Raptors vaulting them to a title?
If these guys were real difference makers they’d have trade value, or their current teams wouldn’t be buying them out. Raptors aren’t buying out Lowry even though he had a big contract that was hard to move.
But u choose to be salty and think LA taking Nets to a title lol
@lil D_bottom 3 Who is salty???? Quit mouthing off to seek attention and stick to the script immature guy. Salty is the only thing you 90s kids can come up with to open your statements I see. You simply wanted a reason to say something to me, I don’t know you, so what’s your reason to entice? I never once wanted Drummond onto the raptors. Folks like you seek clout on social media platforms too much. Your comment holds no merit little man.
…it was just an example since you’re clearly a Raptors fan. Was trying to put it into perspective to make my point.
Yikes. Maybe take a break from the computer guy. You’re gonna pull something.
@ lil D _bottom 3 Ah yes. The constant trolls who lack a life and go out of their way for a reaction. I’m not on the computer all day as you are. I’ve been adulting since age 16 and I’m 34 now with real life responsibilities. Stick to your vices kid, I’m sure there is a box of cigarettes with your name on it, while you ask permission to use your parents car.
Lol yep, a box of smokes with my name on it. Some of my other vices include rock and roll, milkshakes, and hair pomade.
Now excuse me while I beg my folks for the car so I can take Maude to the Sadie Hawkins dance.
I have no responsibilities other than homework, scoring the winning touchdown, and saying my prayers each night.
You definitely overreacted to this corporal. I get your point that there are a lot of internet trolls, but this was not one of those times. There was nothing wrong with his comment. As an outsider, i saw exactly why he was using the raptors as an example, and then his point about the nets is valid. My initial reaction that this is unfair to a team like the sixers or bucks who seemed to still be even with the nets before they added blake and now alridge. But take a step back and think, how upset are getting with this signing if aldridge decided to join the Heat? Or the suns? Or heck even the clippers or sixers? So really the outrage is just because aldridge decided to join the frontrunner for a championship. Players are allowed to choose where they want to play when they are a free agent. They only way i could see this being fixed is if it were like baseball and anytime someone were released, the teams from the opposite conference get first crack at “claiming” them, starting with the worst team
Y’all are all trippin lol
That is no better. It is still one team getting better for free without giving up assets or cheating the salary cap.
The buyout market should be if you get bought out the only way you are allowed to play is if your full salary fits under the new team’s cap. Otherwise, you sit at home and collect your money. In the off season, you are free to sign again with anyone.
Kill the buyout market with extreme prejudice. It’s the dumbest, most anti-competitive thing going in any professional sport.
I disagree. Do you want a 35 year old guy to sit at home on the couch and watch TV and earn his complete salary? Or do you want that 35 year old guy to get on the plane, go to practice, and sit on the end of the bench for four months with a long face as the team plays the young guys because they’re out of contention?
Or do we negotiate his contract, which is legal in the NBA, and is done all day long in business, and say hey you give me back enough of that money and I’ll release you. I see no problem.
The team saves money and the player, who actually makes up the league, THE PLAYERS, gets reinvigorated and has a chance for a ring. What’s wrong with that?
Just because the Sacramento Kings or the Charlotte Hornets don’t participate in the buyout Market doesn’t mean it’s wrong.
What’s wrong with that? It is stacking the deck against other teams competing for the same ring. Yeah, Blake Griffin and Aldridge are just 8th and 9th guys on the bench. But they are a lot better than the 8th and 9th guys on the bench of their competitors.
If you are playing 6 handed poker and 2 guys fold, one of the remaining guys doesn’t get to pick through and take the best folded cards. It is not fair.
@hiflew… Life is not fair, & it ain’t meant to be in this world we livin’ on, just need to wait for the next… so not much point ’bout complaining ’bout it!
As the sayin’ goes, the best team doesn’t always win & the winner isn’t always the best team… that is sports for you, nothin’ fair ’bout it!
The only issue I have us really good teams seeming to be the only places quality veterans who ate bought out are going. I think that’s what critics are inferring. There’s no complaint about players not being able to continue playing.
Name 3 buy out guys that actually did anything for their new team.
Exactly Florida Gators. What’s all the fuss, these guys don’t do much anyway.
They are bench players that will only be needed in case of a injury or some points off the bench.
Like bench players don’t contribute to winning? Holy cow.
Markieff Morris was pretty good for lakers and Birdman for heat were probably the best signings helping lead a team to title but other than that pretty pedestrian.. for all the hoopla the nets get, they’ve had kyrie leave the team twice for personal reasons and Kd has been out half the season for strained hamstring which is probably bigger then they are letting on
Ronny Turiaf for Miami too.
Sam Cassell won a playofff game
For the Celtics on 2008.
If that is the case, then you should be FOR getting rid of the buyout market. If these don’t help their new teams, then why should they join them?
Careful, if they get rid of the buyout market you’ll have one less thing to come on here and complain about
As long as I am around, we never have to worry about you running out of things to complain about.
Well that seems simple then, you go away forever and I’ll have less to correct
As you said to someone else. If you can’t handle someone disagreeing with you, then stay off the internet.
Besides no one is forcing you to interact with me. In fact, I am openly requesting that you not interact with me.
Weak.
Why they join is simple – to potentially get a ring they only partially (at best) earned at the end of their career, after realizing they could be 3rd options on lottery teams or 9th men on a team that has a chance to win
Well I know one thing. All them players going to be looking for a team next yr. and most of the top teams won’t sign them
I disagree. When the Veteran player has played out his big money contract he will definitely sign a minimum deal with a contender for a year or two. It happens every year.
Bunch of cry babies boo hoo. Is the season over ????
What I miss ?? LOL
Nets just became favorite. But their D still is not fixed. Embiid can avg 40 on them. I hope Sixers pick Ellington man please. They still have to play. Lakers, Heat, or Celtics pick up Drummond they can all beat Nets. Lenny ….. let me hear Ya
link to music.youtube.com
Aldridge and Griffin are at best redundant and at worst unplayable — and Durant’s leg is a concern imo. Not buying BK as a frontrunner until I see KD back on the court
Of course everyone is still convinced that Harden will choke once the playoffs begin. Or has that changed since he went to Brooklyn?
Nets new motto: bring us your old and former stars for a free ring while warming the bench.
I am sure the Heat wish they still had Olynyk now, they are VERY light on serviceable bigs.
Heat can now sign Cousins.
Cousins moves like he has arthritis in both legs ! Sorta like Marc gasol
They acquired Bjelica from the Kings to play Olynyk’s old role.
I know why they acquired Bjelica. They still are seriously thin on bigs. Like REALLY thin.
When Olynk gets bought out they can just sign him again lol #rockets
Olynyk is starting tonight. He has 11 points in 9 minutes so far,
Also, Go Zags.
The only player the Rockets will even consider buying out is Exum.
Wall isn’t going anywhere and they should have Olynyk’s bird rights if they intend to re-sign him in the offseason since it’s very unlikely anyone with cap space will offer him more than Houston can.
i think theyll play butler and ariza at 4 but even still i wonder if they moved kelly thinking they were def getting aldridge
Can you see the Statue of Liberty from the Barclays Center. You know – Gives us your tired etc….
Thought they would acquire Drummond. I guess Andre will now sign with the lakers, Cousins still remains unsigned which is crazy.
??? Aldredge article. But neither LMA nor AndreD was anticipated for TOR that I read. I know fans were hoping for Boucher support.
I will be amused if Boston getting Wagner turns out to be the best midseason “get”, if only due to court time.
I would have advised teams looking for paint presence to look into Gafford who went from CHI to WAS.
Gotta say, AD joins AD, and LA goes to NY sort of.
Anonymous FO execs are wrong again, if they actually exist. Might have just been Riley’s minions.
Do you all understand that not every yr there are good players available for BO. Just so happens this yr. You should be asking yourself. Why didn’t the Heat Blazers, Celtics close the deal with Aldridge. Nets not guaranteed anything. Harden has always folded in playoffs. Kyrie n KD have never won on their own. You play harden 90 ft you can control him. Nets don’t scare me. They haven’t won anything but signing the most players who are ring chasing. Nothing but noise till they win.
“The Ring Chasers” Drummond signs with another contender. Nets will be left at alter lol.
Agreed. Heat in 3
Agreed regarding the Nets. Chemistry is always vastly overlooked by fans. It’s basically three guys that think in order to win, they ‘need’ to get 20+ shots a night and then a dozen post-prime combo 3’s & 4’s… Can see them easily getting bounced in the second round. The regular season’s more important for a team like Brooklyn; if they have to face Bucks or Celtics in Round 2, that’s a real problem for a mentally fragile/“hot or not” type team like the Nets.
Buyout market is a joke.
Syllivan just came across Bleacher Report. Breaking Breaking news !!!!! AD is getting bought out.
Also Bron is retiring. He said what’s the use!!!!
Sixers and Jazz are refusing to continue the season.
OMG. OMG. OMG OMG
OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG
This bluntly.. shocked me
I thought I couldn’t hate the Nets more until it’s reached another level. I’m still being hopeful of a Finals without Lakers/Nets.
Lakers are in trouble now. They better pray they sign Drummond . They need a big and depth
Nets are getting greedy. They have a stack team.
Most people have nothing against the buyout market per se, I think. But people are against a situation that favorites are becoming better on the cheap, especially in big markets. That’s bad for competitive balance.
Here’s two ideas how to fix that:
1) the team who signs a player automatically surrenders rights for a second rd pick swap to the original team of the player. E.g. the Spurs would receive that swap from the Nets. it’s important that the Spurs can chose when to use this.
2) whatever the new salary they agree, a special tax doubles it for the team (not for the player) when the new team reaches the 2nd round, triples in the CSF, quadruples in the CF and quintuples in the finals. The proceed are going into the usual tax pot, benefiting the other teams, especially the small market teams. Players dynamics would not be affected much, but favourites would simply have to pay more to make them think a little harder.
Two issues here:
With your first proposal, let’s pretend the Nets signed Drummond and Aldridge for the sake of this. Then let’s say Cleveland and SA both want to swap 2nds with Brooklyn in ’24. How would you sort that out? I’m not trying to be overly critical because I think your idea isn’t bad here, it could just have some complications.
On your second idea, it doesn’t really do much because regardless of how much money you give a team, there is still a salary cap.
All that said, I don’t see the buyout market as a huge problem.
I think yours is a pretty good idea in concept but it would never happen in real life. I think it would end the buyout Market there was some kind of compensation involved. The compensation involved for the waving team is money saved. The benefit for the receiving team is often not as much as you would think with the name of the player and his past performance.
If the team had to give up a second-round pick I don’t think they would sign and LaMarcus Aldridge or a Blake Griffin. That’s too much to give up.
The “money saved” is actually partly paid for by the team that did the buyout. Vet-min contracts are largely subsidized by the league, as a way to not deter teams from hiring veterans who have a larger mandated minimum than younger players. That said, the subsidy is really meant to benefit journeyman players, not superstars or stars who get bought out, and a simple change to the rules that requires a pick in compensation as well as NO subsidy for the vet-min salary would go a long way to evening things out. Furthermore, the vet-min salary does not impact the cap for the new team, but the buyout salary impacts the cap for the old team, so again, the old team is subsidizing the new team. Buyouts really should mean they cannot play until the contract is over – rights are rights. Some teams still retain draft rights for players who never played a minute in the NBA, and use them in trades. If you can still own the rights to a guy drafted in 1992 who is now retired and living in Germany, why should the terms of a buyout negate the remaining contract? The player doesn’t have to work, and he should surrender some pay for that.
I don’t know if many of you guys recall this, or are old enough, but back in 79 or so the San Diego Clippers signed Bill Walton to a free agent contract. Back then compensation was necessary and the Clippers had to give up two of their pretty good players… definitely guys that played a lot of minutes. Backup center Kevin kuehnert, and power forward Kermit Washington. That was a big loss to the Clippers and they changed that entire system completely because it did not work.
Kunnert was terrible; and wasn’t Washington the one who broke Rudy Tomjanovich’s jaw and was anathema after that? I don’t think that actually was a big price to pay.
This does pose a point; teams should have to surrender a draft pick or something of value when they sign another team’s buyout. Simply reducing the other team’s payout (which btw is subsidized in part by that other team, since the NBA pays a large part of vet-min contracts) is not sufficient deterrent and this practice does seem to violate the spirit if not the letter of the cap limits.
“LaMarcus Aldridge is rumored to have a 4” vertical.” -Chris Sheridan
LOL
Idk if see the fit? Claxton has played well and shown upside. They have DJ, Griffin, and Jeff Green.
If you are a former all-star over 30 you qualify for this team’s roster spot
I didn’t give Nets much chance at a title but Hardens been better fit than anticipated.. adding Aldridge is a big plus.. if Durant is back for playoffs and Irving can act like a grownup their chances are as good as anyone’s
If he regains his form from his prime watch out!
WOW
Aldridge is a good piece. Now that it’s done. Nets D is not the best it could be. They have numbers with bigs. But I still don’t see a great D team. Only saying they can be beat. What kills me is DAntoni never went out and got bigs all his yrs with Rockets. Nash never played with a real big his best yrs in Phoenix. Now both are loading up with Bigs on Nets. Life is real lol. Tells me they got Embiid on their mind. Hope Freakin Ben is watching. Ben this is your Mt Everest bro. Nets have to have be favorites now. But you still have to play the games. A good defensive team can beat the Nets. But you will still have to out score them.
Man you are all SOO MAD about the buyout market like it hasn’t been around for years haha Jfc