LMA is gone!

[Dejounte]

So true. I was thinking the same thing. He isn't starting anywhere. I don't even know if Portland will take him back. They already have Carmelo jacking up mid range shots. This could fall apart for him. I'm not sure what options he has. His best options are to ride out this season and sign a new contract that teams are more amenable to. It will be interesting to see what happens, or doesn't happen.

Lol that is not an option anymore. Once Pop (or any coach) says you're out, you're out. It would look mighty foolish of him to come back after those statements were released.

It WAS probably in LMA's best interest to come off the bench and stuff the stat sheet for his next contract with another team. Unfortunately, it's either:

1) His ego blinded him from seeing this

Or

2) He and the Spurs have been working alongside with each other on a trade for awhile now and they have a sense of which teams he could be traded to, so no need to go out there and risk further injury

[The Truth #6]

No benefit for either interpretations. My guess is, they have a feel for who's interested and that they can make it work if they sacrifice a bit more or if the other team coughs up a bit more.

This Woj tweet could have easily been different.

I don't think Aldridge's rift with the team started recently. I think it's been brewing for awhile, giving the Spurs some time and planning to get a sense of what they can get. Because if we do assume this has been brewing for awhile, and there was nothing out there, then the Spurs could have gone straight to a buyout instead of beating around the bush.

I don't think LMA's unhappiness is new is my main point. And if we use that information, we can safely point to a likely hypothesis of what's going on behind the scenes.

I think that's a good point. Why not just buyout right away to avoid this lingering? It could be they were trying to get ahead of his agent releasing some statement..I'm just spitballing. But the FO prefers to avoid these types of media stories I imagine, so I'm my "level of confidence" is slightly higher now in a trade happening.

[The Truth #6]

Lol that is not an option anymore. Once Pop (or any coach) says you're out, you're out. It would look mighty foolish of him to come back after those statements were released.

It WAS probably in LMA's best interest to come off the bench and stuff the stat sheet for his next contract with another team. Unfortunately, it's either:

1) His ego blinded him from seeing this

Or

2) He and the Spurs have been working alongside with each other on a trade for awhile now and they have a sense of which teams he could be traded to, so no need to go out there and risk further injury

I should have said "were". That was my point, I suppose. But yeah, that ship has sailed.

[exstatic]

Lol that is not an option anymore. Once Pop (or any coach) says you're out, you're out. It would look mighty foolish of him to come back after those statements were released.

It WAS probably in LMA's best interest to come off the bench and stuff the stat sheet for his next contract with another team. Unfortunately, it's either:

1) His ego blinded him from seeing this

Or

2) He and the Spurs have been working alongside with each other on a trade for awhile now and they have a sense of which teams he could be traded to, so no need to go out there and risk further injury

The toughest thing for a player is to accept that they’re no longer a star. Carmelo struggled with this very thing for like 2-3 years, until teams stopped calling his agent. He finally had his realization, and is doing well as simply a rotation player in Portland. I hope LMA finds contentment and a similar niche somewhere.

[SAGirl]

I really think this means we are buying and using his contract to get it done. We don't really have leverage to get draft capital unless we take back a very bad contract but, if we are packaging a young player and/ or picks we can definitely buy talent. Gordon/Bamba would be great...Grant/Plumlee would be great as well.. and there are of course others depending on price.

If it were any other team I’d say they are buyers, I just don’t have any faith in Wright to swing a good deal. He hasn’t shown savvy in his short time here. He would need to show some business sense now...

[PrimeMinister]

I think the heat makes some sense imo, Kelly olynk and KZ okpala for LMA if the salary works or am I delusional?

I’ve been saying since the story broke yesterday this is the only realistic trade scenario short of some
3 team deal we can’t put together with the information we have here or a move where we take bad salary for picks.

waive Leonard. Olynyk is a fine backup rental. Okpala is a decent depth add for the future at a valuable position.

[MultiTroll]

Make it stop already.

[Dejounte]

New insider info!

https://fortyeightminutes.com/heat-b...rcus-aldridge/

Heat, Bulls in the mix for LaMarcus Aldridge

Some around the league consider the Heat as a frontrunner for Aldridge, a rival front office executive tells FortyEightMinutes. Miami has a glaring need at the frontcourt and it’s no secret that the club is open to pairing Bam Adebayo with a traditional big man (they’ve been linked to Nikola Vucevic recently).

“Don’t expect the Spurs to trade him within the Western Conference,” the executive tells FortyEightMinutes.com.

[PrimeMinister]

New insider info!

https://fortyeightminutes.com/heat-b...rcus-aldridge/

Heat, Bulls in the mix for LaMarcus Aldridge

Some around the league consider the Heat as a frontrunner for Aldridge, a rival front office executive tells FortyEightMinutes. Miami has a glaring need at the frontcourt and it’s no secret that the club is open to pairing Bam Adebayo with a traditional big man (they’ve been linked to Nikola Vucevic recently).

“Don’t expect the Spurs to trade him within the Western Conference,” the executive tells FortyEightMinutes.com.

Bulls trying to package salary+lauri to get a first

[Degoat]

New insider info!

https://fortyeightminutes.com/heat-b...rcus-aldridge/

Heat, Bulls in the mix for LaMarcus Aldridge

interesting! I figured the heat would be interested but I wonder what the bulls could offer

Some around the league consider the Heat as a frontrunner for Aldridge, a rival front office executive tells FortyEightMinutes. Miami has a glaring need at the frontcourt and it’s no secret that the club is open to pairing Bam Adebayo with a traditional big man (they’ve been linked to Nikola Vucevic recently).

“Don’t expect the Spurs to trade him within the Western Conference,” the executive tells FortyEightMinutes.com.

[R. DeMurre]

Ordinarily I'd say I don't see why Sacramento would do a deal for LMA, but it's Sacramento so who knows. I follow the Kings pretty closely, and I've seen multiple reports that they regret the Barnes contract and multiple reports that they're completely happy with Barnes. They seem to be hanging their big man hopes on Bagley, who doesn't look anything like a top player at all. If the idea is to move forward with Bagley and Hields as centerpieces, well, all I can say is that would be a very Kingsian move, destined for failure.

[PrimeMinister]

Ordinarily I'd say I don't see why Sacramento would do a deal for LMA, but it's Sacramento so who knows. I follow the Kings pretty closely, and I've seen multiple reports that they regret the Barnes contract and multiple reports that they're completely happy with Barnes. They seem to be hanging their big man hopes on Bagley, who doesn't look anything like a top player at all. If the idea is to move forward with Bagley and Hields as centerpieces, well, all I can say is that would be a very Kingsian move, destined for failure.

Knowing the Kings FO and Ownership, all of these things could very well be true at the same time.

[Degoat]

Wonder what the bulls would offer!? I’d take Lauri even if we had to throw in a 1st in a heartbeat

[R. DeMurre]

Grabbing Satoransky in a Chicago trade would be fantastic. I know I've done Satoransky/Thaddeus Young for Aldridge in the trade machine before and it worked. Satoransky would cover losing Mills and Walker imo, leaving the Spurs money to pursue another forward.

Maybe John Collins will ultimately help the Spurs! Not by signing with them, but by being the FA that other teams aim for, forcing them to shed veteran salaries to prepare for it.

[Dejounte]

Grabbing Satoransky in a Chicago trade would be fantastic. I know I've done Satoransky/Thaddeus Young for Aldridge in the trade machine before and it worked.

Maybe John Collins will ultimately help the Spurs! Not by signing with them, but by being the FA that other teams aim for, forcing them shed veteran salaries to prepare for it.

Yup, hence why I said the Kings might value shedding Barnes' contract off. They may make a run at Collins. They may see how well Collins worked with a great PG like Trae, and see how he would do well with both Hali and Fox. Plus, they might enjoy having another explosive guard in Lonnie to add to their guard corps.

[PrimeMinister]

Yup, hence why I said the Kings might value shedding Barnes' contract off. They may make a run at Collins. They may see how well Collins worked with a great PG like Trae, and see how he would do well with both Hali and Fox. Plus, they might enjoy having another explosive guard in Lonnie to add to their guard corps.

Ok, but sell me on the spurs wanting this deal. What do we get from Harrison Barnes that is worth the potential to kick tires on a player under control like Lonnie or wait out a better deal if he’s able to raise his value into next year?

[Dejounte]

Ok, but sell me on the spurs wanting this deal. What do we get from Harrison Barnes that is worth the potential to kick tires on a player under control like Lonnie or wait out a better deal if he’s able to raise his value into next year?

My satisfaction for a trade with the Kings is contingent on getting Holmes and/or Woodard back. Holmes solves our center rotation issues and we'd be set for the future. Barnes would carry the torch of being "the vet" for the young guys, AND he's not a bad player to put in the rotation for us to remain compe ive.

[exstatic]

Ok, but sell me on the spurs wanting this deal. What do we get from Harrison Barnes that is worth the potential to kick tires on a player under control like Lonnie or wait out a better deal if he’s able to raise his value into next year?

He rolls off in 2023, the next big FA class. He can also step in and start at the 4 if DD takes a walk. His numbers are lower, but he gives enough to not force our younger players to pick up ALL of DD’s numbers. He’s a 39% three point shooter.

[Dejounte]

The Spurs' interest in Dinos earlier in the season makes a LOT of sense now.

The Spurs saw this coming for awhile with LMA...

It's all pieces of the puzzle that are coming together now, boys...

[The Truth #6]

The Heat are a frontrunner for Aldridge? If true, that's news, at least. But I don't imagine there are a lot of people competing. Frontrunner...only runner?

Anyway, a trade with the Kings around Barnes with either Holmes or Woodard is more interesting, but I need to brush up on Barnes, I think he was drafted the same year as Chris Paul. But at least some players we can potentially use. Barnes would likely mean Rudy is not resigned, but that' s not a huge issue.

[daslicer]

Yeah, you're right. As another poster mentioned, he only celebrates guys like Tim, Manu, David, Tony, but you're right about if we all expect any other potential superstars we might get or develop down the line to be the same way as those guys were. Tim, Manu and David were exceptional people, and they were a special group when they played together (I'll throw Tony in there too, but I will say, if the Spurs sucked and weren't winning, I think he would have left). Not many superstars are likely to act the way those previous Spurs legends did and sacrifice stats and money for the good of the team.

It's a bit of a reality check for myself too, as I keep wanting to bash LA, but I also have to keep being reminded that he's one of the only star players that signed here as a free agent. That was big.

I'm not real happy if the Spurs buy him out and see him go elsewhere and possibly win a ring, because I believe he still could have helped this team if he could have gotten his offensive game going. At his best, he's still better offensively than 90% of the players on the current team. The Spurs yet again waited too long to try and trade a player. Also, it's not that I don't want him to win a ring, it's more that I hate we'll likely not get a some sort of decent return for him leaving.



That a pretty great take on the way I feel too. I agree with you. I haven't been happy with his at ude at times over the years, but I am not happy we're losing his talent. He really was really darn good offensively and was a much better defender than I gave him credit for before his decline the past season. I really wish he would have come into this season with less weight. I would have loved to have seen if he could have gotten more mobile and played better in this current era if he was slimmer/carrying less weight.



What kind of stuff did Pop say? Was he that dejected after the game?

I remember a few years ago Kerr was playing Curry,Klay,Durant in garbage time against some team and after the game I remember a reporter asked if he was running up the score. His response was actually serious which was "No the reason why I'm playing our top guys is because they need to get their stats and won't be happy if they don't." Kerr was basically acknowledging that his star players are stat padders. All the top players are pretty much like that. Lebron even at old age cares deeply about his numbers and prior to Davis getting hurt was trying hard to get another league MVP.

Dave,Manu,Duncan were all mature adults and mature for their age that's why they could make sacrifices and also peer pressure Tony to fall in align. The only mature superstars I see are Jokic,Giannis, and it looks like Embiid is maturing but we'll see as the season progresses. Most of these star players don't ever mature just look at the antics Harden,Durant,Lebron,Kawhi all pull and they are now in their 30's. It's why we should all appreciate how special Dave,Manu,Duncan were instead of expecting guys to have their mentality.

[NASpurs]

The Heat are a frontrunner for Aldridge? If true, that's news, at least. But I don't imagine there are a lot of people competing. Frontrunner...only runner?

Anyway, a trade with the Kings around Barnes with either Holmes or Woodard is more interesting, but I need to brush up on Barnes, I think he was drafted the same year as Chris Paul. But at least some players we can potentially use. Barnes would likely mean Rudy is not resigned, but that' s not a huge issue.

Barnes is 28 years old

[San Antonio Slayer]

I guess Pop needs Duncan Robinson from the Heat. But I would prefer Lavine

[BackHome]

Wonder what the bulls would offer!? I’d take Lauri even if we had to throw in a 1st in a heartbeat

He kinda reminds me of White so far he has missed at least 30% of games due to various injuries and his latest shoulder injury he has missed 4 weeks so not sure about him.

[duncan2k5]

No benefit for either interpretations. My guess is, they have a feel for who's interested and that they can make it work if they sacrifice a bit more or if the other team coughs up a bit more.

This Woj tweet could have easily been different.

I don't think Aldridge's rift with the team started recently. I think it's been brewing for awhile, giving the Spurs some time and planning to get a sense of what they can get. Because if we do assume this has been brewing for awhile, and there was nothing out there, then the Spurs could have gone straight to a buyout instead of beating around the bush.

I don't think LMA's unhappiness is new is my main point. And if we use that information, we can safely point to a likely hypothesis of what's going on behind the scenes.

Agreed...his unhappiness definitely isn't new