LA Lakers Rumors: LaMarcus Aldridge To Leave Blazers, Sign With Lakers?
LA Lakers rumors have LaMarcus Aldridge spurning the Portland Trail Blazers.
The Lakers could then sign Aldridge as a free agent during the NBA offseason. While there are also a number of other teams that could compete for the services of Aldridge, including the Dallas Mavericks and San Antonio Spurs, it seems that the Lakers are going to put in the effort. A report from CBS Sports on Thursday (June 25) basically confirms that Aldridge has played his last game as a member of the Blazers.
A source that CBS Sports claims is close to LaMarcus Aldridge states that the All-Star power forward has a 99.9 percent chance of leaving Portland. To sum it up, he basically said that Aldridge is “gone.” That’s very unfortunate news for fans of the Portland Trail Blazers, but it also means that free agency is going to be even more exciting for the NBA than previously thought. An inability to draw top free agents and not appreciating Aldridge are two of the rumors given as to why he wants out.
A report from Marc Stein at ESPN.com reveals that the preferred destinations (in order) by Aldridge are the San Antonio Spurs, Los Angeles Lakers, and Dallas Mavericks. He notes that the Lakers have moved ahead of the Mavericks on this latest list, showing that the team could offer the bright lights that attract many free agents. Teaming up with Kobe Bryant, Julius Randle, and the No. 2 overall selection in the 2015 NBA Draft. The team can also add several more role players in free agency, putting young talent around Aldridge for many seasons to come. Will he choose the Lakers though?
As previously reported on the Inquisitr, LA Lakers rumors during the NBA offseason have already linked the team to Kevin Love, Dwyane Wade, Jimmy Butler and Rajon Rondo. It has seemed like the Lakers would go after Love if he decided to opt out of his deal with the Cleveland Cavaliers, but it is unclear if he wants to go team up with Kobe Bryant. Love has already indicated that he is indeed opting out, presenting the Lakers with a another interesting scenario in free agency.
There is a lot that the Lakers could do in free agency with the salary cap space that they have been able to save up. The team has only one major salary commitment (Bryant) for the 2015-16 NBA season, and then is deal comes to an end. Now the team has a chance to make a lot of noise in free agency, creating a lot of new LA Lakers rumors in the process. The question now becomes how will the dominos start to fall when free agency officially opens in July?
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