Zach Lowe: League executives believe Spurs may offer max to LaMarcus Aldridge

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Originally Posted by Chinook

Aldridge made it known that he's prioritzing money. I doubt he leaves the Blazers now. However, maybe if they get smacked down in in the first round this spring, he'll be open to a move. Portland may have prime-aged veterans, but they also seem to have a hard cap on their potential. LA's not young, so a championship-tested core may appeal to him more than hoping Lillard goes supernova for 16 games in the playoffs and the Blazers can avoid the Spurs.

Still, it's incredibly important to note that THE SPURS DO NOT HAVE MAX CAP SPACE AVAILABLE THIS SUMMER UNLESS THEY UNLOAD SOME OF THEIR OWN PRIME-AGED CORE. If they could unload Diaw for nothing, then they'd have the space. But that totally negate the point of signing a win-now piece in the first place.

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I think you exaggerate how far away we are. Dumping Mills for nothing would open up the space for Aldridges max, while allowing us to keep Green and Kawhi.

Parker, Diaw, Splitter, Anderson, Green (cap hold) and Kawhi (cap hold) comes to almost exactly $45m, throw in 6 roster cap holds around $3.3m and we'd have $19m in cap room assuming a $67m cap. That's close enough to an Aldridge/Gasol/Love potential max to effectively make no difference.

This obviously requires letting go of Joseph and Mills, stashing our first rounder and not bringing over LJC. We could still bring over Bertans if we wanted because his minimum would be the same as the roster cap holds, making the cap figure the same.

Baynes, Bonner, JaMychal Green and perhaps even Belinelli can probably be brought back on minimum deals if we wanted. Joseph might get an offer, but with the glut of point guards in the league we may even be able to bring him back for the Room exception.

I don't think Aldridge is leaving Portland now Lillard is there, but if he is willing to then we could find room for him quite easily. The beauty is that we are in a position to go hard for a free agent without sacrificing any of our pieces if we miss out, if Aldridge and Gasol resign with their teams then we would still be able to bring back everyone.

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Originally Posted by hater

Duncan retiring? of course it is. ppl actually think otherwise? :lol

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Tim Duncan sucks

:lol I'd do it only for the shitstorm that would rain down on tlong tbh

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Originally Posted by Richie

I think you exaggerate how far away we are. Dumping Mills for nothing would open up the space for Aldridges max, while allowing us to keep Green and Kawhi.

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Did you miss the "unless they unload some of hteir own prime-aged core" part? And even so, that would take away the team's chance to keep Cory as an RFA. They'd have only the MLE to address the backup point position, and this is with no Manu and a gimpy Parker.

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I don't think Aldridge is leaving Portland now Lillard is there, but if he is willing to then we could find room for him quite easily. The beauty is that we are in a position to go hard for a free agent without sacrificing any of our pieces if we miss out, if Aldridge and Gasol resign with their teams then we would still be able to bring back everyone.

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In no way shape or form is givng up three rotation players not sacrificing pieces. I agree that the Spurs could get a max contract slot if they really wanted to, but that would require them to weaken themselves, which in turn makes them less attractive for free agents. It's not an easy proposition at all.

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Originally Posted by Chinook

Did you miss the "unless they unload some of hteir own prime-aged core" part? And even so, that would take away the team's chance to keep Cory as an RFA. They'd have only the MLE to address the backup point position, and this is with no Manu and a gimpy Parker.



In no way shape or form is givng up three rotation players not sacrificing pieces. I agree that the Spurs could get a max contract slot if they really wanted to, but that would require them to weaken themselves, which in turn makes them less attractive for free agents. It's not an easy proposition at all.

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It would be giving up rotation pieces, but it's not like we're letting go of legit starters. Out of all the players we would lose, the only one who played significant minutes in the playoffs last year was Mills.

Lets assume we dumped Mills and wouldn't be able to bring back Joseph, Baynes or Belinelli after waiving their Bird rights/qualifying offer. We could look at it as a trade, Mills + Joseph + Baynes + Belinelli for Aldridge, that's a no brainer. Every GM in the league would do that in a heartbeat.

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Originally Posted by Richie

It would be giving up rotation pieces, but it's not like we're letting go of legit starters. Out of all the players we would lose, the only one who played significant minutes in the playoffs last year was Mills.

Lets assume we dumped Mills and wouldn't be able to bring back Joseph, Baynes or Belinelli after waiving their Bird rights/qualifying offer. We could look at it as a trade, Mills + Joseph + Baynes + Belinelli for Aldridge, that's a no brainer. Every GM in the league would do that in a heartbeat.

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Except Aldridge isn't leaving Portland and the Spurs aren't going to dump assets to engage in a quixotic pursuit. You can make the math work, but that's about it.

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Originally Posted by Richie

It would be giving up rotation pieces, but it's not like we're letting go of legit starters. Out of all the players we would lose, the only one who played significant minutes in the playoffs last year was Mills.

Lets assume we dumped Mills and wouldn't be able to bring back Joseph, Baynes or Belinelli after waiving their Bird rights/qualifying offer. We could look at it as a trade, Mills + Joseph + Baynes + Belinelli for Aldridge, that's a no brainer. Every GM in the league would do that in a heartbeat.

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Plus two first-rounders. I'm not sure I'd be as inclined to make that trade. Not because of talent, really. But I don't think that it make sense to give up that much if you're trying to win now. It would take the team another year or two to their talent level back up to where it is now. It'd be different if the Spurs actually made that trade, as well, seeing as they'd probably keep their MLE in that case.

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Originally Posted by Mel_13

Except Aldridge isn't leaving Portland and the Spurs aren't going to dump assets to engage in a quixotic pursuit. You can make the math work, but that's about it.

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I think you misunderstand my point, there's no reason we'd have to dump any assets until we actually signed Aldridge, Gasol or whoever. We will tender qualifying offers to Baynes and Joseph, if we miss out on a free agent then we just sign them to deals. It's a no lose-situation, we keep the ability to bring everyone back up until the moment before a free agent signs when we'd dump Mills and rescind the qualifying offers. If nobody wants to sign then we haven't lost anything.

I agree I think it's unlikely that Gasol or Aldridge leave their teams, but if they choose to then we are absolutely in the race.

I'm thinking that this is more about a Spurs' pursuit of Aldridge making perfect sense if Duncan retires as opposed to Aldridge actually wanting to leave.

If it wasn't Portland, Aldridge could potentially hold out for a sign-and-trade to San Antonio, allowing the Spurs to get him without losing a big chunk of the core of the team. But the Blazers seem to have something against the Spurs, and they are also a (supposed?) contender that would be loath to help a conference foe.

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Originally Posted by Richie

I think you misunderstand my point, there's no reason we'd have to dump any assets until we actually signed Aldridge, Gasol or whoever. We will tender qualifying offers to Baynes and Joseph, if we miss out on a free agent then we just sign them to deals. It's a no lose-situation, we keep the ability to bring everyone back up until the moment before a free agent signs when we'd dump Mills and rescind the qualifying offers. If nobody wants to sign then we haven't lost anything.

I agree I think it's unlikely that Gasol or Aldridge leave their teams, but if they choose to then we are absolutely in the race.

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I understood your point, I just don't see the Spurs pursuing that sort of plan.

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Originally Posted by Mel_13

I understood your point, I just don't see the Spurs pursuing that sort of plan.

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Not to mention because it relies on Leonard not signing an offer sheet and Green not signing anything. Then, whomever the team wants with the room exception has to hang out as well. So many things can go wrong when you're waiting on big fish to make up their minds. Just ask Houston.

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Originally Posted by Chinook

Not to mention because it relies on Leonard not signing an offer sheet and Green not signing anything. Then, whomever the team wants with the room exception has to hang out as well. So many things can go wrong when you're waiting on big fish to make up their minds. Just ask Houston.

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:lol

My first thought was that plan sounded like something that Morey would try to pull off. RC's not playing that game.

I really hope the spurs promote and look for a young bargain with real potential. I don't want Aldridge, Gasol, Millsap, or any of the big name unrestricted guys. these guys are going to be crazy expensive, wine dine and ditch for the bright lights types, who are on the wrong side of late 20's with lame playoff careers anyway. Draymond, Tristan Thompson, Reggie Jackson, Jimmy Butler, Faried, Kantor, Jeff Taylor, Telotovic are going to be afterthoughts so i'm sure they'd be loyal to anybody who makes them a priority, work hard. They're going to be less expensive than the big name unrestricted, discount. They're being restricted makes it so that if you lose out on signing them at least their team has to pay a little heavier for them, slyly defensive. They're younger, with more potential, coach-able. high reward low risk, if boom than you win and if bust than you can trade for at least a little something.

Renounce Duncan and manu in the offseason and you supposedly have the room.

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Originally Posted by Chinook

Plus two first-rounders. I'm not sure I'd be as inclined to make that trade. Not because of talent, really. But I don't think that it make sense to give up that much if you're trying to win now. It would take the team another year or two to their talent level back up to where it is now. It'd be different if the Spurs actually made that trade, as well, seeing as they'd probably keep their MLE in that case.

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We're not giving up first rounders, we're just delaying them another year which is very different. LJC isn't going to be demanding the MLE to come over if we wait another year like Splitter, dude is 11th in minutes for his mid table team in the Pro A.

This is all assuming Duncan and Manu retire obviously, at which point we cease to be a true contender without signing someone of Aldridges quality. We'd be a better team with Aldridge and less depth compared to the alternative, and that is still assuming we can't bring back Baynes and Belinelli for the minimum and Joseph for the Room exception. It's not out of the question for our rotation to be

Parker/Joseph
Green/Belinelli
Kawhi
Aldridge/Diaw
Splitter/Baynes

If we can get him for the minimum, why not?

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Originally Posted by Chinook

Not to mention because it relies on Leonard not signing an offer sheet and Green not signing anything. Then, whomever the team wants with the room exception has to hang out as well. So many things can go wrong when you're waiting on big fish to make up their minds. Just ask Houston.

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This is a complete non issue, if Green or Kawhi decide to sign an offer sheet then we put any free agent on a clock. If they don't commit then we bring back everyone and wait until the next time we have room.

Houston weren't wrong to do what they did, the mistake they made was to prioritise chasing Bosh over Parsons. In the same situation there's no way the Spurs let Parsons walk.

The Joseph Room exception would just be a cherry on the cake, there are plenty of options at point guard in the league every year if he left.

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Originally Posted by Richie

We're not giving up first rounders, we're just delaying them another year which is very different. LJC isn't going to be demanding the MLE to come over if we wait another year like Splitter, dude is 11th in minutes for his mid table team in the Pro A.

This is all assuming Duncan and Manu retire obviously, at which point we cease to be a true contender without signing someone of Aldridges quality. We'd be a better team with Aldridge and less depth compared to the alternative, and that is still assuming we can't bring back Baynes and Belinelli for the minimum and Joseph for the Room exception. It's not out of the question for our rotation to be

drunk edit

Parker/(Joseph trade for Lavine would keep rookie scale deal in place and free up some cash)
Green/Belinelli
Kawhi
Aldridge(Draymond, Tristan Thompson, Faried, Kantor are cheaper and maybe better. considering Bertans, LJC, K. Anderson, J. Green)/Diaw
Splitter/Baynes

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Duncan and Manu don't have to retire, if the spurs just get deeper. Kawhi is in full on spur superstar mode right now anyway. the only tweak necessary is stronger supporting cast, not more superstars.

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Originally Posted by DrunkTXLabrat

Duncan and Manu don't have to retire, if the spurs just get deeper. Kawhi is in full on spur superstar mode right now anyway. the only tweak necessary is stronger supporting cast, not more superstars.

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I completely agree, if Duncan and Manu want to come back then fantastic. I'm taking an extra year of Duncan over any free agent.

However, you're crazy if you think Minnesota are trading LaVine or any of those power forwards listed are better than Aldridge. Draymond Green will probably get a max offer and Tristan Thompson reportedly refused a $12m extension from the Cavs already, and neither are close to Aldridge. The dude scored 40+ in 2 straight playoff games last year.

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Originally Posted by Richie

I completely agree, if Duncan and Manu want to come back then fantastic. I'm taking an extra year of Duncan over any free agent.

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You just agreed that Spurs don't have to go after an Aldridge-level player even if Duncan and Manu both retire.

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Originally Posted by Mel_13

You just agreed that Spurs don't have to go after an Aldridge-level player even if Duncan and Manu both retire.

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What? Where? If we can bring back the same core with Duncan and Manu I'm doing it all day long. If they both retire then we need a star to keep contending.

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Originally Posted by Mel_13

You just agreed that Spurs don't have to go after an Aldridge-level player even if Duncan and Manu both retire.

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it's not exactly a deal with the devil. Kawhi, Parker, Green, Tiago, Diaw, Mills, Anderson, Baynes, LJC, Bertans is really only short Parker, Tiago, Baynes insurance, imo.

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Originally Posted by Richie

What? Where? If we can bring back the same core with Duncan and Manu I'm doing it all day long. If they both retire then we need a star to keep contending.

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My mistake. I thought you misread the drunk guy's post. Turns out that I misread it. Sorry about that.

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Originally Posted by Richie

We're not giving up first rounders, we're just delaying them another year which is very different. LJC isn't going to be demanding the MLE to come over if we wait another year like Splitter, dude is 11th in minutes for his mid table team in the Pro A.

This is all assuming Duncan and Manu retire obviously, at which point we cease to be a true contender without signing someone of Aldridges quality. We'd be a better team with Aldridge and less depth compared to the alternative, and that is still assuming we can't bring back Baynes and Belinelli for the minimum and Joseph for the Room exception. It's not out of the question for our rotation to be

Parker/Joseph
Green/Belinelli
Kawhi
Aldridge/Diaw
Splitter/Baynes

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Obviously, if the Spurs' core comes back for the minimum, then the roster would not be gutted. But that's not practical. Nor is it good GMing.

At best, it would be Parker, Green, Kawhi, Aldridge, Splitter as starters with Anderson, Bertans and Diaw as the bench. Probably the worst roster the Spurs have had since 2010. Any use of cap space must involve them also having players on cheap rookie deals.

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Originally Posted by Richie

This is a complete non issue, if Green or Kawhi decide to sign an offer sheet then we put any free agent on a clock. If they don't commit then we bring back everyone and wait until the next time we have room.

Houston weren't wrong to do what they did, the mistake they made was to prioritise chasing Bosh over Parsons. In the same situation there's no way the Spurs let Parsons walk.

The Joseph Room exception would just be a cherry on the cake, there are plenty of options at point guard in the league every year if he left.

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It's not about letting Leonard walk. It's about him signing an unideal contract (like the one Parsons signed). And losing Green for nothing would be a real possiblity. Also, committing and signing aren't the same thing. Korver committed to the Spurs until his wife told him no. When you're talking about stars leaving their draft teams, there's no such thing as committment until a signature is on the paper. And the trades/cuts have to be made before that happens.

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Originally Posted by DrunkTXLabrat

it's not exactly a deal with the devil. Kawhi, Parker, Green, Tiago, Diaw, Mills, Anderson, Baynes, LJC, Bertans is really only short Parker, Tiago, Baynes insurance, imo.

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throw in Reggie Jackson and Draymond and this team keeps winning championships.