Source: If Blazers losing by mid-Jan, LMA will ask out

[Norm2953]

Much ado over nothing for LA has three years remaining on his contract and Portland is
under no obligation to move him.

That being said, a team like the Houston Rockets have spent much of the off season looking
for a superstar player and have a bunch of young promising players. The two teams could
probably cobble up a deal if necessary.

[Joshumitsu]

Keep in mind, this is just Berger's response to the recent Ziller article where Aldridge's situation is listed as a potential Dwight Howard scenario. It isn't like Berger heard the news from his source (of which I'm doubtful of) and proceeded to make it breaking news.

[Pattycakes]

I like when people read crap from unnamed sources and think it means anything.

[Wont Trade]

I'm like 95% sure I read that Aldridge was all in for a rebuild. Not that I would ever believe an unnamed source anyway, but knowing that the player himself said the opposite just two months ago makes me believe this even less.

[The Sebastian Express]

Not at all what he said, but school starts soon, so these threads will start to diminish

What was said?

Is this entire thing based off Tom "can't write" Ziller's article about "chances these stars demand a trade apocalypse" over on sbnation?

http://www.sbnation.com/nba/2012/8/14/3 ... stage-hook

[DusterBuster]

No, it was not solely based off Zellers article as some here are suggesting. Berger specifically said he spoke to someone within the Blazers organization and they told him that if the team is struggling by mid Jan, don't be surprised if you hear grumblings about Aldridge being unhappy and wanting a trade. The Game does podcasts if anyone doesn't believe me or thinks I'm misrepresenting what he said.

Im stunned so many people are so quick to write off any notion of Aldridge possibly asking for a trade in the near future. That is beyond naive imo, particularly in the current NBA climate.

[The Sebastian Express]

Wait, so did they tell him he would or "don't be surprised" because don't be surprised is pretty much a guess going off past history. People are probably pretty quick to write it off because of LaMarcus' own past words, his demeanor, and his history with loyalty in his life.

[Butter]

IF, IF, IF, this is true it will out even more pressure on the Batum signing. If LMA walks, cap space and draft picks would have been much more valuable than a #3 being asked to fill the void as the veteran lease on this team.

[sabi]

Harden for LMA trade sucks for us big time. Thunder would need to include Ibaka as well. Some of you guys are overrating Harden he would not look as good without Durant and Westbrook next to him.

[RoyalWun]

I'm like 95% sure I read that Aldridge was all in for a rebuild. Not that I would ever believe an unnamed source anyway, but knowing that the player himself said the opposite just two months ago makes me believe this even less.

This.
I remember reading the same.

I'm sure he understands what the franchise has been through these past couple years and fully understands they had to make certain moves in order for them to get better. The FO clearly gave LMA the keys to the team and I doubt he'd abandon them because they're not a .500 team.

It's how sports works (for teams not named "Lakers"), you have to get worse to get better.

[bob2]

Without the Blazers being surprisingly successful, they should start shopping Aldridge and be proactive like the Jazz were with DWill instead of reactive like the Magic were with Douche Howard.

except that Aldridge is under contract for THREE more years.

Even if he really wanted out (which is highly hypothetical), this situation would have nothing to do with Howard or Williams who were expiring contracts.

[Wizenheimer]

No, it was not solely based off Zellers article as some here are suggesting. Berger specifically said he spoke to someone within the Blazers organization and they told him that if the team is struggling by mid Jan, don't be surprised if you hear grumblings about Aldridge being unhappy and wanting a trade. The Game does podcasts if anyone doesn't believe me or thinks I'm misrepresenting what he said.

Im stunned so many people are so quick to write off any notion of Aldridge possibly asking for a trade in the near future. That is beyond naive imo, particularly in the current NBA climate.

there is so much wiggle room in what was supposedly said that it's really difficult to assign it credibility, in my view

who exactly is "someone in the Blazer organization"??...is it the assistant videographer? is it somebody who has ever even spoken to Aldridge? I have no idea, but I can tell you after watching the acts of Dwight Jaynes and John Canzano over the years, I have no trust...at all...of sports 'reporters' when it comes to them quoting anonymous sources who are supposedly connected to the situation. Most of the time, if it's not some level of fiction, it's high levels of exaggeration.

furthermore, the "don't be surprised if you hear grumblings" is pretty vague, don't you think? As far as I can tell, this could just be somebody that Berger talked to engaging in complete conjecture about how Aldridge might feel if the Blazers have a bad record this year. Maybe it's based upon something concrete, maybe it's not. For chrissakes, maybe Berger talked to Mike Rice towards the end of happy hour at Rice's favorite watering hole.

I certainly won't "write off" the chance that Aldridge could become unhappy in Portland. I think it's pretty rare for any NBA player to have much of a reservoir of franchise loyalty. And the fact that any player can be traded at just about any time kind of justifies the every-man-for-himself sentiment

but this does seem to contradict what Aldridge has reportedly said recently and would go against what he's been about as a pro. So I'd say some significant skepticism is warranted.

[BlazersRizing]

I call BS on this. can't trade Aldridge IMO. gotta keep him.

[DusterBuster]

I understand being skeptical of the "source" within the Blazers. I'd agree that you should be skeptical.

However, I see a lot of people just far too willing to stick their heads in the sand by saying LMA would never do this or that the Blazers should never consider this.

Without the Blazers being surprisingly successful, they should start shopping Aldridge and be proactive like the Jazz were with DWill instead of reactive like the Magic were with Douche Howard.

except that Aldridge is under contract for THREE more years.

Even if he really wanted out (which is highly hypothetical), this situation would have nothing to do with Howard or Williams who were expiring contracts.

DWill wasn't expiring. He had one year left on his deal after the season the Jazz traded him.

I understand Aldridge is under contract for "THREE" more years. That's EXACTLY why the Blazers need to start exploring the idea of moving Aldridge now as opposed to later. The closer Aldridge moves to becoming an expiring contract, the lower his value becomes and the more power he gets to dictate his preferred destination. If they start looking now, they can maximize his trade value and the Blazers aren't stuck with only having to deal with the 2 or 3 teams he's willing to sign an extension with.

[Billy]

Harden for LMA trade sucks for us big time. Thunder would need to include Ibaka as well. Some of you guys are overrating Harden he would not look as good without Durant and Westbrook next to him.

Good thing that was what was suggested

I understand being skeptical of the "source" within the Blazers. I'd agree that you should be skeptical.

However, I see a lot of people just far too willing to stick their heads in the sand by saying LMA would never do this or that the Blazers should never consider this.

I think if anything it's an interesting exercise to bridge the gap between now and fall camp.

For me, it's a realistic thing to be concerned about. Inside sources aside, it passes the smell test simply from a human nature standpoint. Aldridge is a top 5 PF, probably top 20 player in the league, and he's in the prime of his career. If Portland were set up with Hibbert, Aldridge, Batum, Matthews and Lillard you could say that you could compete for a second round playoff berth next season. But since Hibbert didn't happen, and we are now paying big money for Batum's potential without much cap space left over, we are kind of in flux. How many stars make noise in that situation?

I would be more comfortable going forward if the Blazers had a better track record in player personnel. Whether it was overvaluing guys, overlooking obvious flaws, or just plain putting their head in the sand, Portland has stumbled to where they are now. Obviously not all of those are their fault, but IMO it would be a dangerous decision to simply assume Aldridge is going to be hunky dory winning 35 games on a young roster forever.

[PDXKnight]

I think teams will pay for LA with 3 seasons on his contract moreso than when he's in his second to last or final year. If LA wants out around January because of our record I would cater to his needs and trade him. At that point it might be a smart move for both sides.

[Butter]

I think teams will pay for LA with 3 seasons on his contract moreso than when he's in his second to last or final year. If LA wants out around January because of our record I would cater to his needs and trade him. At that point it might be a smart move for both sides.

It depends on what they could get. A young prospect seems like it'd be much better than a draft pick. The obvious problem is that LMA will likely help a team win many more games, so the draft pick value goes down, especially that early in the season.

Here's my ideal trade targets:

1) A good team that owns a pick from a crappy team
2) Young prospects
3) draft pick(s) from a decent team gaining LMA

Looking at a list of traded picks
http://www.nbadraft.net/2013mock_draft

Here would be my ideal target:
Rockets receive the Raptors' 2013 first-round pick (Top 3 protected and 15-30 in 2013, top 2 protected and 15-30 in 2014 and '15, Top 1 protected and 15-30 in 2016 and '17, and unprotected in 2018. (Kyle Lowry trade) (Kyle Lowry trade 07-11-12)

[DusterBuster]

I think if anything it's an interesting exercise to bridge the gap between now and fall camp.

For me, it's a realistic thing to be concerned about. Inside sources aside, it passes the smell test simply from a human nature standpoint. Aldridge is a top 5 PF, probably top 20 player in the league, and he's in the prime of his career. If Portland were set up with Hibbert, Aldridge, Batum, Matthews and Lillard you could say that you could compete for a second round playoff berth next season. But since Hibbert didn't happen, and we are now paying big money for Batum's potential without much cap space left over, we are kind of in flux. How many stars make noise in that situation?

I would be more comfortable going forward if the Blazers had a better track record in player personnel. Whether it was overvaluing guys, overlooking obvious flaws, or just plain putting their head in the sand, Portland has stumbled to where they are now. Obviously not all of those are their fault, but IMO it would be a dangerous decision to simply assume Aldridge is going to be hunky dory winning 35 games on a young roster forever.

This is exactly what I was trying to get at. The "source" was never the main point of this thread. It could be legit, it could be complete crap. What isn't in doubt here is that there IS real potential for something like this to happen.

I liken Aldridge and the Blazers situation to what happened with the Raptors and Bosh. They tried to do the same balancing act of building on the fly with young players, signing some vets and trying in vain to keep Bosh happy. In the end, they didn't take the threat seriously that Bosh could leave them for nothing and that's exactly what happened.

I think teams will pay for LA with 3 seasons on his contract moreso than when he's in his second to last or final year. If LA wants out around January because of our record I would cater to his needs and trade him. At that point it might be a smart move for both sides.

Exactly. The Blazers need to learn from pasts of other teams. They need to learn from mistakes of Phoenix, Toronto, Cleveland and Orlando. If you wait it out, try to make your star happy and hope that time will heal all the wounds, your either going to be left empty handed or getting pennies on the dollar return because you've lost all leverage. The closer you get to a players contract expiring, the more leverage you hand over to the player, his agent and other teams FO's.

Then they need to learn from the successes of a team like Denver, New Orleans and specifically the Jazz. Denver aside (they had a special situation in getting to deal with a desperate and stupid Knicks owner), both the Hornets and Jazz didn't waste time with their stars. They didn't wait until the last second of the Trade Deadline to move their stars. They moved them when they still had some time on their contracts (in the Hornets case, they were able to convince Paul to pick up his option) and they got solid to spectacular return on their player.

[marsblazer]

Not really worried about it. If he ends up wanting to leave mid season because we lose alot, I expect by the time his contract is up we will be back tO being a good team. So if it's truly about winning I think we will have a much better team at that point than Dallas(his speculated choice destination) It seems like it's a different attitude than dwill or Howard I think they wanted a more high profile city, Aldridge doesn't strike me as that type of person

[Wizenheimer]

This is exactly what I was trying to get at. The "source" was never the main point of this thread. It could be legit, it could be complete crap. What isn't in doubt here is that there IS real potential for something like this to happen.

I liken Aldridge and the Blazers situation to what happened with the Raptors and Bosh. They tried to do the same balancing act of building on the fly with young players, signing some vets and trying in vain to keep Bosh happy. In the end, they didn't take the threat seriously that Bosh could leave them for nothing and that's exactly what happened.

I think your comparison to Bosh and Toronto is weak. That would mean that the Raptors should have been willing to trade Bosh after the 2006/07 season....the season they won the Atlantic division. It's kind of to think they should have been willing to trade their franchise player at that time, even if he would have expressed any dis-satisfaction. Teams work and jockey around for years just to get a player at Bosh or Aldridge level. They aren't going to dump that player at the first sign of a little trouble

There are still 3 years left on Aldridge's contract. That's a long time. A lot can change. 3 years ago, Portland won 54 games and the future was bright. Just because they were in the lottery last season, doesn't mean they will remain in the lottery in 2014.

The Blazers need to learn from pasts of other teams. They need to learn from mistakes of Phoenix, Toronto, Cleveland and Orlando. If you wait it out, try to make your star happy and hope that time will heal all the wounds, your either going to be left empty handed or getting pennies on the dollar return because you've lost all leverage. The closer you get to a players contract expiring, the more leverage you hand over to the player, his agent and other teams FO's.

Then they need to learn from the successes of a team like Denver, New Orleans and specifically the Jazz. Denver aside (they had a special situation in getting to deal with a desperate and stupid Knicks owner), both the Hornets and Jazz didn't waste time with their stars. They didn't wait until the last second of the Trade Deadline to move their stars. They moved them when they still had some time on their contracts (in the Hornets case, they were able to convince Paul to pick up his option) and they got solid to spectacular return on their player.

you say that this thread isn't really about the rumor that Berger spouted, yet you spend all this time basing your argument on that rumor....you know...that the Blazers shouldn't sit on a disgruntled player like other teams have in the past. Even though there is no evidence that he is disgruntled.

make up your mind...is this a reaction to a rumor or an exercise in 'exploring' Aldridge's trade value?

you have a 3 page thread on the trade board and what I see is that the offers presented there are pretty damn poor. Now, that does not mean that the real GM's would offer the same level of value for Aldridge. RealGM often does not reflect the real world. But if this thread here is just an exercise in setting the trade value of Aldridge, it's going to be disappointing.

you offer the examples of Utah, Denver, and New Orleans as being positive examples of what to do

I'm not so sure that's accurate. Deron Williams led Utah to the WC finals once, to the semi-finals two other times, and into the playoffs 4 straight years. Currently, Utah looks an awful lot like a treadmill team. 1st round exit fodder. They got assets for Williams to be sure, but those assets may never equal the value of Williams, and right now, that looks to be the case.

Denver?...AFIAC, they got a budget platter for Melo. I'm not impressed with their return. Of course, I think Melo was pretty overrated so maybe their 'poor' return was decent value.

New Orleans? I'd say the jury is way out on that one. Eric Gordon could be an all-star or he could end up with injuries like Brandon Roy. And the Hornets are paying him a max deal. And I have not been impressed with Austin Rivers to this point. I would be surprised if he is ever as good as OJ Mayo

The Hornets did not get good value for Paul

on the other side of the coin is the fact that if the Lakers would have traded a disgruntled Kobe, they would not have won their last two championships.