Trail Mix: Aldridge to meet with Spurs again, dinner meeting “much ado about nothing”
Lillard making a last ditch effort to woo Aldridge, according to reports. (AP Photo/Don Ryan)
From “Plan A” to “Plan Ed,” to Portland, to LA and back again. A heatwave has washed over the Northwest, and the Greek economy continues to tumble into misery. Tales were told of Portland’s last remaining star embarking on a quest to return with the sweet-shooting, post-scoring big man that has all suitors weak at the knees. UPDATE 11:48 PM: As some readers have pointed out, Amick’s article begins talking about Pat Riley and other outlets did report that he met with Riley last night. While Amick diverts and makes Dame’s visit the subject, it appears that it is about Riley. Damian Lilard’s last-ditch attempt to salvage the Aldridge situation looks like it will end up less than heroic and more closely resembles the Bay of Pigs. The battle was lost, but Lillard fought anyway to come home empty handed. However, Lillard will definitely come out looking much better than JFK no matter the result. But perhaps, just maybe, the NBA’s most eligible bachelor will make a decision soon. John Canzano of The Oregonian reports that the Blazers free-agent big man will soon meet with the Spurs and that insiders don’t expect his decision to drag out much longer. From Sam Amick of USA Today on the dinner between Lillard Riley and Aldridge last night
But according to a person with knowledge of Aldridge’s situation, it was – other than a nice dinner – much ado about nothing. Entering Friday, the LaMarcus leaderboard is believed to still have the San Antonio Spurs up top, with the Phoenix Suns second and the Dallas Mavericks a darkhorse of sorts from there.
So, again, it looks like the Blazers are out. And it looks like–despite appearances–they never were in it throughout the process. The Miami Heat met with the Blazers big man but it seems that it was more Pat Riley being weird and vague then actually trying to make a deal to bring him to South Beach this season. The rest of the crew has already left town. Wesley Matthews agreed to a deal last night with the Dallas Mavericks and Adrian Wojnarowski is reporting that Robin Lopez has agreed to a big money deal from the New York Knicks. And with the departures of Matthews and Lopez, the team has lost all semblance of the identity it once had. Everything is looking much younger around the Blazers these days. The Blazers have acquired a host of young players through trades and free-agency over the past 10 days. They will have to find a new identity. The NBA’s free-agency has been a wild one. And with this much cap space for every team chasing too few guys worthy of max deals, it looks like we’re going to be in for this for the next few seasons. In the NBA’s quest to become a year-round sport like the NFL, the rapid player movement will only continue. Aldridge’s decision will allow other dominos to fall around the league for other forwards potentially on the move like David West, Roy Hibbert and David Lee. The Blazers have a pretty deep front court already. It looks like the Blazers could use a little extra depth on the wing. This is the state of the wing depth at the moment. 2/3: CJ McCollum, Pat Connaughton, Gerald Henderon, Al-Farouq Aminu, Allen Crabbe It would seem that the Blazers will need to add another wing, but with the most of the best free-agents already agreeing to terms, it looks like Portland will have to scour the trade market.
Erik Gundersen
Erik Gundersen is the Trail Blazers beat reporter for The Columbian. He's a graduate of the Allen School of Journalism and Communication at the University of Oregon in addition earning a degree in Spanish. He's covered the NBA for four seasons. You can also occasionally find his work on ESPN.com's NBA section for their TrueCities series. He also fist-bumped with Kanye West once. Follow @BlazerBanter on twitter for more Blazers and NBA news.