LaMarcus Aldridge has made his decision. He will be heading to the San Antonio Spurs to team up with Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Kawhi Leonard and Gregg Popovich. He'll get $80 million over four years, with a player option after year three. The news was reported by Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.
LaMarcus Aldridge, Spurs agree to $80 million contract
The All-Star forward will leave Portland and join the Spurs, where he and Kawhi Leonard can lead the franchise into a new era.
Aldridge is expected to sign a four-year maximum contract that will total around $80 million.
That the Spurs were able to sign Aldridge is a testament to the creativity of their front office. Entering the summer, they did not have maximum cap space, but they were able to create the room necessary by trading previous starting center Tiago Splitter to Atlanta. San Antonio even managed to re-sign starting shooting guard Danny Green and will eventually give Leonard a five-year maximum contract for $90 million.
Aldridge chose San Antonio after meeting with the Los Angeles Lakers and Phoenix Suns. Both intrigued him, as did the New York Knicks, Houston Rockets and Toronto Raptors. The Portland Trail Blazers, Aldridge's current team, never ruled out him returning. But in the end, he will join San Antonio and help usher in a new era for the league's model franchise.
I'm happy to say I'm going home to Texas and will be a Spur!! I'm excited to join the team and be close to my family and friends.
— Lamarcus Aldridge (@aldridge_12) July 4, 2015 In Aldridge the Spurs get the perfect player to make one more push at a title and rebuild their team around in a post-Tim Duncan era. Aldridge will smoothly fit right into San Antonio’s offensive scheme. His outside shot will help the Spurs continue to space the floor and he and Tony Parker should be able to form a great pick-and-roll combination. He’ll also give San Antonio some much needed youth.
Of course, Aldridge won’t be able to replicate or replace Duncan on the defense. But there are few who can. Gregg Popovich should be able to figure out ways to use Aldridge on that end. And a Popovich offense featuring Aldridge is a proposition that should terrify the rest of the league.
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