Offseason of talk about LMA potentially leaving the Blazers

Fitz303 · Post #201 » by **Fitz303** » Sun May 3, 2015 2:59 am

As difficult as it was to watch the Spurs lose to the Clips (TD is my all time favorite), that might have been the best thing to happen for us trying to keep LA from the Spurs

Post #202 » by **Moonbeam** » Sun May 3, 2015 3:14 am

Fitz303 wrote:As difficult as it was to watch the Spurs lose to the Clips (TD is my all time favorite), that might have been the best thing to happen for us trying to keep LA from the Spurs

Perhaps. Did it have to be this Clipper team, though? I used to not mind them at all, but Griffin, Paul and Reddick are very easy to dislike.

Then again, so is Manu...

PDXKnight · Post #203 » by **PDXKnight** » Sun May 3, 2015 3:22 am

Fitz303 wrote:As difficult as it was to watch the Spurs lose to the Clips (TD is my all time favorite), that might have been the best thing to happen for us trying to keep LA from the Spurs

It won't hurt that's for sure. Its hard to say what this loss means in the grand scheme of things though, SA still has a proven system in place and a coach who has championship pedigree. If Duncan doesn't retire and is willing to sacrifice money to make LA to SA happen then anything is possible but at this point its fair to question whether SA's supporting cast is better than Portland's. The 30 million dollars we can offer is also a nice thing to have and even with a 9.9 percent Oregon income tax LA will still wind up with around 19 million more if he signs a 4 year max deal. LA supposedly isn't about the money but 19 million more would have plenty of pull with anyone I'd imagine.

PDXKnight · Post #204 » by **PDXKnight** » Sun May 3, 2015 3:29 am

Moonbeam wrote:
Fitz303 wrote:As difficult as it was to watch the Spurs lose to the Clips (TD is my all time favorite), that might have been the best thing to happen for us trying to keep LA from the Spurs

Perhaps. Did it have to be this Clipper team, though? I used to not mind them at all, but Griffin, Paul and Reddick are very easy to dislike.

Then again, so is Manu...

Ha well I like the Spurs but the Blazers come first so I rooted for the LAC to win this in hopes that it might give LA that much more of a reason to stay in Portland. I have to say though, the shot clock issue was dysmal and I'd go as far to say might have been intentional. Its embarassing to see the shot clock operators make such a big error at such a big moment

Post #205 » by **Moonbeam** » Sun May 3, 2015 3:35 am

Oden2 wrote:
Moonbeam wrote:
Fitz303 wrote:As difficult as it was to watch the Spurs lose to the Clips (TD is my all time favorite), that might have been the best thing to happen for us trying to keep LA from the Spurs

Perhaps. Did it have to be this Clipper team, though? I used to not mind them at all, but Griffin, Paul and Reddick are very easy to dislike.

Then again, so is Manu...

Ha well I like the Spurs but the Blazers come first so I rooted for the LAC to win this in hopes that it might give LA that much more of a reason to stay in Portland. I have to say though, the shot clock issue was dysmal and I'd go as far to say might have been intentional. Its embarassing to see the shot clock operators make such a big error at such a big moment

Yeah, that was bogus. I actually will be rooting for Houston in the next round, and that makes me feel a little gross.

Post #206 » by **DeBlazerRiddem** » Sun May 3, 2015 3:41 am

If Aldridge signs a 1 year contract (maybe with a second year as a PO), can't the Blazers give him more than anyone else?

I am not convinced Aldridge has a significantly better chance of winning else-where. He does not fit Houston's style at all (Aldridge's bread-and-butter is not Morey-ball), San Antonio has questions about their long-term future (outside of Leonard), and Dallas is also older and has been in flux. Portland is still young and dynamic, hit by injuries at the wrong times this season.

In any case, there is no where that is gonna guarantee him a championship. The real goal is 2016 or 2017 summer, might as well take the highest raises until then. If the Blazers go further with him as the central man that is only going to raise his value, but if he goes to another team for a year or two and they struggle to integrate him (which is often a risk, and he may find himself marginalized) it could hurt his ability to get the max.

So I'm not too worried about this summer, but the next 2 summers could have us on our toes.

No-Man · Post #207 » by **No-Man** » Sun May 3, 2015 10:26 pm

If I am Aldridge, I am signing with the Hawks.

jeffhardyfan52 · Post #208 » by **jeffhardyfan52** » Sun May 3, 2015 11:21 pm

What is this nonsense on the general board about Aldridge not wanting to play with dame

Post #209 » by **The Sebastian Express** » Sun May 3, 2015 11:42 pm

Just clickbait by thescore pulled from ESPN and further made into unfounded gossip by the same guy that tried to start trouble at the end of the Memphis series. Just go through his post history. He is not a fan of Damian.

Post #210 » by **DeBlazerRiddem** » Sun May 3, 2015 11:58 pm

jeffhardyfan52 wrote:What is this nonsense on the general board about Aldridge not wanting to play with dame

That would be pretty huge news if true.

Which means its just smoke. Some one was like "Hey what if Aldridge doesn't want to play in Portland? What if its because of Dame? I better write a column about this using 'anonymous sources' before anyone else does!!"

GreenRiddler · Post #211 » by **GreenRiddler** » Mon May 4, 2015 12:59 am

It would be pretty dumb for LMA to go to the Spurs, TP is done. He is just not the same player, Manu is 38. Kawhi is only one player and he isn't even an all-star.

GreenRiddler · Post #212 » by **GreenRiddler** » Mon May 4, 2015 1:09 am

jeffhardyfan52 wrote:What is this nonsense on the general board about Aldridge not wanting to play with dame

Its that same guy who came here talking nonsense about Dame. I think he just dislikes Damian for some reason. I think he is a suns fan, so I don't know why.

TheScore.com is a Canadian based sports entertainment company that was bought by Sportsnet in 2014. I don't think they are 'scooping' anything, in fact they made it out of thin air...no sources.

As discussion ramps up regarding LaMarcus Aldridge's future with the Trail Blazers, the unrestricted free agent may be somewhat unhappy alongside point guard Damian Lillard, according to ESPN's Marc Stein.

The report makes no mention of a rift between the two players, but it wouldn't be the first time professional jealousy affected free agency. Aldridge has been in Portland for nine seasons; Lillard three.

http://www.thescore.com/nba/news/756819

Notice the red text? :roll:

It is just some desk jockey who has to cover a million different sports and teams so he peaks about something he as no knowledge of to get clicks and manufacture news.

Post #213 » by **DaVoiceMaster** » Mon May 4, 2015 2:25 am

Just a few months ago, Aldridge and Lillard went on record to say they want to continue playing together with Batum so I'm not sure where this would have come from. There's a record of them saying they want to play together. Is there any record of Aldridge saying otherwise? If not, then it's simply gossip because someone doesn't have anything else to report and Aldridge seems to be the flavor of the month right now.

Post #214 » by **Moonbeam** » Mon May 4, 2015 3:00 am

In that same thread, people were piling on Dame as an "inefficient chucker", a "ball hog" and a "dick". I can get not liking Dame (though I do very much), but to go all the way to inefficient chucker just has no basis in reality, the same way that people used to call Kobe the same back when he was actually scoring on pretty good efficiency. I even made a freaking graph to highlight how silly that statement looks:

Norm2953 · Post #215 » by **Norm2953** » Mon May 4, 2015 3:35 am

It's once again the national media who likely are putting out talk of LA not wanting to play
with Dame for it'd be worse in Cleveland if Love opted out and LA signed to replace him for
he'd be like Bosh in Miami.

Hopefully he'll think things over carefully for this team is build around his game and its likely
Olshey will consult with him on any big moves the team makes. Elsewhere, its Leonard's
team in SA, Dirk in Dallas,Lebron in Cleveland etc.

jhern87 · Post #216 » by **jhern87** » Mon May 4, 2015 7:43 pm

Funny that this is being discussed in here.. I met up with some buddies this weekend for the fight and was talking about LaMarcus leaving with them. They mentioned a rift between Dame and LaMarcus and said something about Dorell and LMA used to be good friends but now Dorell and Dame are tight and it's caused some divide.

Hopefully it's just BS but I hadn't heard anything before this about Dame and LMA's relationship. Too bad if so.

PDXKnight · Post #217 » by **PDXKnight** » Mon May 4, 2015 10:09 pm

jhern87 wrote:Funny that this is being discussed in here.. I met up with some buddies this weekend for the fight and was talking about LaMarcus leaving with them. They mentioned a rift between Dame and LaMarcus and said something about Dorell and LMA used to be good friends but now Dorell and Dame are tight and it's caused some divide.

Hopefully it's just BS but I hadn't heard anything before this about Dame and LMA's relationship. Too bad if so.

Dorrell and la seemed to be laughing it up on the sideline during the playoffs and I highly doubt someone like wright would make that big of a difference in a free agency decision

jhern87 · Post #218 » by **jhern87** » Tue May 5, 2015 4:19 am

Oden2 wrote:
jhern87 wrote:Funny that this is being discussed in here.. I met up with some buddies this weekend for the fight and was talking about LaMarcus leaving with them. They mentioned a rift between Dame and LaMarcus and said something about Dorell and LMA used to be good friends but now Dorell and Dame are tight and it's caused some divide.

Hopefully it's just BS but I hadn't heard anything before this about Dame and LMA's relationship. Too bad if so.

Dorrell and la seemed to be laughing it up on the sideline during the playoffs and I highly doubt someone like wright would make that big of a difference in a free agency decision

I saw that too, which was confusing to me. Hope you're right.

Shem · Post #219 » by **Shem** » Sun May 10, 2015 8:06 pm

Interesting article about what it would take for the Spurs to lure Aldridge away from Blazers:
http://www.poundingtherock.com/2015/5/8 ... o-bringing

PDXKnight · Post #220 » by **PDXKnight** » Mon May 11, 2015 7:14 pm

Shem wrote:Interesting article about what it would take for the Spurs to lure Aldridge away from Blazers:
http://www.poundingtherock.com/2015/5/8 ... o-bringing

It seems like the Spurs option is less of a possibility with each passing day. Duncan and ginobili need to be resigned and I find it hard to believe that kawhi won't take the first max offer he gets knowing SA will match