Three things are obvious watching LaMarcus Aldridge in San Antonio. He is very uncomfortable in San Antonio, he does not understand the system they run, and he is not going to improve. He was better in Portland, and he does not play well in this system where he has to subjugate himself to the system that is run. Aldridge is a guy that is going to play his own game, and he seems content to keep doing that for a long time because he did not get much better last year at all. He is probably mad that Kawhi Leonard is the star of the team, and he is probably wondering what could have happened if he had stayed in Portland.
The system
The Spurs play their system whether you like it or not, and that is probably not going to change. They will continue to run that system with their best players passing the ball more often than not, and they will not scout teams too much because they are committed to doing their own thing. That means that a lot of people who come to San Antonio have to make sure that they can handle the system. A lot of them will fall in line because they want to have a chance to win, and that is not what Aldridge has done.
Being a star
Aldridge must have thought that going to San Antonio would make him the best player on a great team. He wanted to be the superstar on the team without doing any work, but Kawhi Leonard did the work that was required to be the star of this team.
He grew into their star because he did what he was told to do at every step. The coaching on this team is going to be a very big deal, and it is going to continue to be that way until Popovich retires. Aldridge must have thought that he knew everything, but he was wrong. He does not know it all, and he cannot run this offense because he does not even understand it.
Buyer's remorse
Aldridge probably really regrets going to San Antonio because he must wonder if they could have gotten even better in Portland. He was ready to run away because he thought that the Blazers were not able to win a title, but he is on a Spurs team that cannot win because he will not get in line. The Blazers are not going to be as good as the Spurs, but they could have been had he stayed there.
He must hate getting yelled at by Gregg Popovich because Pop yells at everyone, and that is where he sits. He is very rich, but he is living in a nightmare of his own creation.
Aldridge has to shape up, or he will probably be traded because the Spurs will not put up with his refusal to fall in line with what they do as a team.
