The Spurs and LaMarcus Aldridge have reached an agreement to part ways, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic. Coach Gregg Popovich broke the news tonight on a pre-game Zoom call with reporters, saying, “We’ve mutually agreed for him to work on some opportunities elsewhere.” (Twitter link from Tim MacMahon of ESPN)
Aldridge’s departure could take the form of a trade, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, who reports that San Antonio is working on trade scenarios for the veteran big man and has been “engaged on several fronts” (Twitter link). The Spurs are confident that they can find a trade partner, possibly within the next week, and no move has been made toward a buyout, sources tell Woj (Twitter link).
Aldridge, 35, lost his starting job last month and was coming off the bench for the first time since his rookie season. He’s averaging 13.7 points and 4.5 rebounds per game while shooting 36% from three-point range, but the emergence of Jakob Poeltl has made him expendable.
Popovich explained that Aldridge has accepted his new role, but the organization believes he would be better off somewhere else.
“He’s been a great teammate, there’s no problem there,” Popovich said. “We just think this is a win-win for LaMarcus and the club. When an opportunity arises, that will be up to management, his agent and we will all move forward.” (Twitter link from Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express News)
Aldridge is making $24MM this season in the final year of his contract, so it won’t be easy for another team to match salaries in a deal.
Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel notes that Heat president Pat Riley tried to lure Aldridge as a free agent in 2015, but didn’t have enough cap room to make a competitive offer (Twitter link). Winderman suggests (via Twitter) that some combination of Meyers Leonard, Kelly Olynyk and Andre Iguodala would work salary-wise, but Miami would likely have to throw in another asset to get the Spurs’ interest.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Forget Blake lakers should get him he has enough in the tank and he be a good small ball players if needed
They cant get blake griff anyway
I know that I’m just saying LA will be a better fit than Blake would of . Since LA can shoot better and give us a PF/c something Blake not
Except that not what we need, we need a rim protector and rebounder. Aldridge is neither of those. We also don’t have salary to match in a trade. Not gonna happen
Whose trading for him when they can just wait for a buyout?
Because he might not come to you if he is bought out. Just because you want him doesn’t mean you get him unless you trade for him.
cuz I don’t think any team wants to take on that huge contract. Also they might realize that he could already be taken in trade market before deadline arrives.
Expiring contract is tradable
Unless ( there is always an unless)
you want a second round pick or assets
I don’t think he will be traded… his value is pretty much shot at this point and at 24 million, it’ll be hard to find a matching contract from a contender.
Miami can easily match it.
Dallas too.
Boston has TE
GS using wiggins or oubre
Toronto could be hard, it’s true
Maz- Yea It looks like Mia if they want him OR..
I could see Bos put in a solid offer early to beat the traffic w the exception. Those 2 over field Imo
Gs-nAH
Dal- Not good fit w Luka, pass
Tor- too tough too match w/ out losing {more}
Wild card Cha for Zeller + ……He’d have to accept a bn rotation role tho, no messin w PJ
Boston could just absorb him in their exception
Thanks for the few years you had with the team!
link to espn.com
But do they have the nerve to trade Derozen?
Spurs boosted their record by benching Aldridge, not Derozan.
( about time!) They could have benched one and featured the other to good effect years ago! Last year anyway.
Considering they’re in the playoffs as of now and Derozan is their best player probably not
SA doesn’t strike me as a team to tank. I think the LA thing is different, he hasn’t been playing a big role for them
Nets.
Why don’t all sports do the buyout system to allow older vets who never won to chase a ring.
Because other sports realize that the integrity of the sport is more important that ring chasing.
I don’t like it. The top teams in the league getting former all stars for nothing at the deadline every year makes the league even less competitive.
Former all-stars arent exactly moving the needle though, I’m all for it, replacing a no-name scrub at the 12th man with a big name at the end of their career is good for the game and league, not bad.
Damian Jones has 2 rings, it doesn’t mean that much tbh, letting a veteran leave the game on a contender is always a nice story.
Emphasis on the word former* though. Blake and LA are far far cries from their All Star forms. Otherwise teams wouldn’t be giving them away for free
it seems shady at a glance, true, but I doubt either guy is more than an 8th man (at best)
But that still means that the #1 seeds and big markets can upgrade their 8th man for free while the lower seeds and small markets still have to give up future assets to upgrade their 8th man. It’s not just shady at a glance, it’s completely unfair in depth.
Disagree—these buyout guys are coin tosses. It’s a marginal issue at best.
Look at Blake’s stats in Detroit. He was terrible. It’s just as likely Griffin is out of their rotation by the playoffs, and it’s possible Brooklyn actually HURT their chances at a ring by signing him, rather than pursuing a lesser known (but probably more skilled) player to fill out the roster.
Yes the big market/contending teams tend to get these guys. But the thing is most of the time these guys are completely washed and a waste of a roster spot.
Whether they are good players or not is really irrelevant. The main problem is that certain teams have an advantage with getting the players over other teams. It is not a fair system.
As far as Griffin’s stats from Detroit, they are meaningless. He was asked to be a much greater part of the team in Detroit than he will be in Brooklyn. He’s not capable of being a 30 minute a night guy anymore, but he could still be pretty good for the 15 a night that the Nets will ask of him.
Hard for me to see how whether or not they’re good isn’t relevant – if I have an advantage in obtaining worthless items I don’t think many people would consider my advantage unfair.
Guess we’ll have to agree to disagree on this one
Since the celtics need so much help, then perhaps they should acquire Aldridge.
Could the Celts acquire him with a second round pick and their TPE?
Maybe a 2nd and one of their crappy young guys (who will probably end up ironically being good in SA)
I don’t see many teams coughing up LA’s salary to get him in a trade given how age expiring contract recent play etc
If it was as a buyout then I could see it. I think there’s better options for them with their exception for the Hayward deal
Hope we can still make a trade with Miami at this point. LA’s value has dropped significantly the past few years, but something like this could work:
Lamarcus Aldridge, Trey Lyles/Rudy Gay, 2nd rnd. pick to MIA
Kelly Olynyk to SAS
No, that would not work.
What the ? may just trade him for a potato
Are you sure you’re a Spurs and not a Heat fan?
Back to Portland!
Thought he was working out well for them off the bench since he has been back lately. Spurs rotation was looking good with him in that 2nd unit behind Poeltl, and he had more scoring opportunities in that unit.
Heat, Toronto, and possibly Orlando, in a bigger deal, maybe could see the Celtics, but they dont have enough salary to send out, and OKC, seem the best fits for him, depending on buyout/trade scenarios
He’s avg 14 n 5. What contender can’t use that. Celtics let’s go……. playoff run
Toronto makes the most sense, but only as a buyout signing. The only way they get him in a trade would be to move Kyle Lowry or gut their depth. Either way, I think they would be a worse team after the deal than before.
Heat probably make the most sense in a trade just because they have the most expiring trade assets.
I think the Celtics could be a dark horse though. If they were willing to give up one or two of their collection of young players along with Tristan Thompson, I could see something happen.
I’d think the Celts could be the favorite here.
Celtics or buyout would be my guess
But C’s will probably wait and see if they can get Vooch or Barnes first
The Brooklyn Nets could also do something like:
Jarrett Allen to SAS
Lamarcus Aldridge, 2nd rnd pick to BKN
But considering they just signed Blake Griffin, this is probably off the table.
They could have done that two months ago before they traded Jarrett Allen to the Cavs.
oof the NBA moves too fast for me now lol .
Understandable to miss. That was the James Harden deal and there were much bigger pieces than Allen involved.
Could work, if Allen didn’t already get traded to Cleveland
SAS must already have at least one trade partner lined up. I don’t see a buyout here, at least one where LMA goes to the Lakers or Clippers. Celtics should be all over this.
Another possible trade:
Romeo Langford / Aaron Nesmith, Daniel Theis to SAS
Lamarcus Aldridge to BOS
This is better than merely taking back Miami’s trash
This one makes sense
Why wouldn’t you do this if your Celts. They can move Thompson for something else. Give Aldridge his mins. Next yr he could even sign for two yrs 10 mill. You hit Hayward TE. Only Horford is better deal. Cause he knows team. Move Thompson for Redick . Let’s go Boston wake up…….
” emergence of Jakob Poeltl”?? lol
Right now Meyers Leonard can’t be traded since he’s not active & is being investigated by the NBA which means that San Antonio will steer clear of Leonard
Well Leonard is on an expiring contract (it does have a club option for next year but def won’t be exercised) so it would be mostly for money purposes. Doubt he’ll play a single game for SAS if he was traded there.
His suspension is indefinite, which means it could be lifted at any time. Such as to accommodate a trade. Which means he CAN be traded.
I don’t see anyone who’ll appear as a candidate for the spurs. Boston wasting their exception on the last legs of Aldridge? Nah. Denver sends Harris? Why would Spurs take that crappy contract and they have a ton of guards? He’ll be a buyout, makes the most sense, then go to Boston, Miami, Denver, maybe Portland, Lakers…
You are aware that the exceptions expire right?
Everyone in the league knows BOS is hot to use their exception and to save face for the disastrous decision not to take back Turner, etc. They’re gonna squeeze them, so LMA may not be that bad a use of it
This will be the first mid-season trade the Spurs have made since 2014, assuming they can make a deal.
7 years!
Kelly Olynyk, Meyers Leonard, Moe Harkless, and 2027 2nd rounder for Aldridge and Keita Bates-Diop?
Id like to see SAS use the value of an Aldridge & DeRozan trades + a 1st used toward accruing John Collins for the future
Guard set- Young and in tact
Vassell’s versatility
Plenty of future cap space
Id love to see Pop get some future ammo, they’d all be young/prime together, West is looking more like the wide open west than anybody taking a stranglehold anytime soon..
Not the Spurs MO, but its going to be hard to spend all that cap efficiently, the best time for a BIG move might be in the next 15 days for SAS’s future future
They can sign Collins to an offer sheet. Stupid Atlanta might not match cuz they already blew their load signing Gallinari, Bogdonovich and Rondo and have no money left. They probably can’t even give those guys away at this point.
If ultimately he is bought out then he’s heading to Portland.
Boston TE goes away if they don’t use it by this yr. They get Aldridge or Horford for it. Can give away Romeo or a future pick or both. You are going for a ring. Your window is NOW. You don’t need young talent you don’t play. Then you make another deal. Move Thompson for a shooter like Redick. Now you you are locked and loaded for playoffs. What are we waiting for …… Larry is not walking back out.
Wake The Freak Up. this move gives you three yrs of contending.
Yes, they should trade a first and Langford for either of them. I don’t think they will tho. They like to wait for the buyouts even tho most of those guys don’t do anything.
Seems we are assuming that SA will trade him to a contender to assets. But what if they did something like LA and a 2nd to Cleveland for Prince and Nance Jr. Cleveland gets salary flexibility next season and extra pick. SA adds depth
Why does Cleveland want to give away Nance and Prince for a second round pick? They need to clear space to make awful free agent signings like Atlanta did? This won’t happen.
why on earth would Cleveland trade Nance Jr for him? Nance Jr is in a contract that is super team friendly and he is extremely versatile and important to them. If they move Nance it will be for real assests.
Celtics are hard capped, so using the TPE, they’d still have to send out a certain amount of salary, which is why I said previously I dont think they have enough to send out. ESPN trade machine mostly confirms it b/c deals dont go through on there for Aldridge. If I’m wrong, what about a 3 team deal with Detroit, assuming they’re moving pieces, and something like
Boston gets LaMarcus Aldridge and Wayne Ellington
Spurs get Tristan Thompson, Semi Ojeleye, and Boston’s 2021 1st rounder
Detroit gets Javonte Green, Carsen Edwards, and either Boston’s 2021 2nd round pick, OKC 2021 2nd round pick, or some other 2nd rounder the Celtics own (whatever necessary)
Works on the other trade machine, but I dont think that one takes hard cap into consideration
LMA to Boston for some combo of a 1st/Romeo + Boston’s trash (e.g., Semi) for cap matching purposes, would be good for both sides.
Oddly, Ainge was just quoted as saying Langford was the only Celtic that was not available for trade. Maybe LMA speculation was the reason. I can sure see it— and LMA for half a season, even if not for longer, being valuable for them and him. I’m sure there’s lots of such chat on the subject in Boston.
Would Tatum be impressed with Derozan’s report on him is the big question. I suspect he is why Ainge can be so cautious— bc Tatum is!
Last game Aldrige was Did Not Dress, before that DNP, before that 15′. The trend is him losing interest. I doubt the FO has a plan waiting. There’s not much text, just gossip-tweets.
Portland has kept a roster spot open all season, and this is why.
My guess is he gets brought out and goes to Portland.
Dame CJ Covington Aldridge Nurkic
Trent Jr Hood Jones Jr Melo Kanter
Simons Little Collins
Not only a strong starting 5 but one of the deepest and best rosters in the league.
Great team for 2K
However if he doesn’t get brought out. Celtics for the trade exception and Romeo Langford make a bunch of sense.
As does James Johnson, Dwight Powell and second round pick for Aldridge and Trey Lyles
I’m glad that the Spurs and LMA have finally decided to split. He just was never a great fit for the Spurs, an Iso scorer on a team that made moving the basketball an art form during their contending years. To LMA’s credit though, after a rocky first 1-1/2 years in SA, he and Pop had a heart to heart, and though he still was not a “Classic Spur”, he re-signed, played hard and kept any gripes out of the media.
Now, to a deal. When a player and a team agree to part ways without a trade already in place, the only way to swing a deal and get an asset is if you take future salary back. Why would any team send the Spurs expiring deals and pick/young player to bring back a guy that they can negotiate with if he’s bought out?
Using Denver as an example, though I know they’re likely not a team that would want LMA, if the Spurs agreed to take on Gary Harris’ contract for 2021-22, they likely would be able to land someone like Zeke Nnaji and a 2nd.
I think ultimately if the Spurs decide that they are going to re-sign, or attempt to re-sign Demar, then taking on extra salary for next year is not an issue, they wouldn’t have a tonne of cap space to make a splash. If they’re not planning on re-signing Demar though, I don’t see a trade that gives them nothing but expiring contracts and a young player or pick, which means buyout.
LA has been talking about going back to Portland to finish his career for the last year or two. I have no doubt that if he’s bought out he ends up back in Portland.