Lamarcus Aldridge is one of the top players on a San Antonio Spurs team that reached the Western Conference Finals in 2016-17. However, he will enter the final year of his contract next season and has yet to agree to a contract extension. If the Spurs don’t ink him to a new deal, they need to trade him or they could end up like the Oklahoma City Thunder and Kevin Durant and end up with nothing if he bolts. As a result, ESPN reports that San Antonio is entertaining offers for tonight’s NBA Draft.
The Spurs draft placement
The San Antonio Spurs have the 29th pick in the first round of the 2017 NBA Draft and the 59th overall selection as well.
However, LaMarcus Aldridge is a star player and a difference maker. The Spurs could trade him to a team that is one player away from a championship run and get a possible Top 10 draft pick.
Of course, the problem is that Aldridge could opt out on that team in one year as well so it would need to be a team that could convince him to stay or at least feels he is worth the risk for a title next year.
There are three teams that the San Antonio Spurs are rumored to have spoken to about a LaMarcus Aldridge trade before the NBA Draft kicks off tonight. According to general manager R.C. Buford, Aldridge is a talented player but the Spurs need to look at building their team and they need to make decisions like this in order to improve while hinting at a trade.
LaMarcus Aldridge
Aldridge signed a free agent contract in 2015 to join the San Antonio Spurs worth $84 million. While the Spurs hoped that adding LaMarcus would push them back to a championship, that coincided with the rise of the Golden State Warriors, who have held onto that top Western Conference spot for three years running.
In 2017, the Spurs met the Warriors in the playoffs but Aldridge played horribly in the postseason, only averaging 16.5 points per game and only a player efficiency rating of 15.2
San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich also called out the performance of LaMarcus Aldridge after Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals. Aldridge only scored eight points in that loss.
With injuries to Kawhi Leonard and Tony Parker, LaMarcus proved he was not someone who could lead the Spurs to victories without a lot of help. The Spurs have made it no secret that they want to possibly chase another free agent and losing the Aldridge contract and picking up a top pick in the NBA Draft tonight could make that more possible.
