Today has been a rough day for Portland Trail Blazers fans with the news that LaMarcus Aldridge has moved on to the San Antonio Spurs in free agency. However, all is far from lost in the Pacific Northwest. Here's our Blazers Free Agency Rumors Roundup For July 4th.
The Aldridge Silver Lining
While L.A.'s four-year, $80 million deal with the Spurs is bound to sting for Blazers fans for awhile, Yahoo! Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski offered up this gem of optimism following Aldridge's departure on Saturday:
Blazers are well-positioned to reboot franchise post-Aldridge, w/ 12 players under contract, average age under-25 and $26M in cap space.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) July 4, 2015
While most of the marquee names on this year's open market have made commitments already, the Blazers have plenty of trade ammunition along with the cap space to make a huge splash in 2016 free agency. Kevin Durant, anyone?
Lillard Hype, Relationship A Factor In Aldridge's Exit?
Here's John Canzano of The Oregonian with a unique inside perspective on a potential major factor in Aldridge's decision to leave Portland:
"To their credit, Aldridge and Lillard worked well enough together on the court. They’re both too intelligent and socially aware to take their philosophical differences public. But they were co-workers, and not great friends. Those deeply entrenched in both camps told me on multiple occasions, basketball aside, that the two men were not huge fans of each other. Which only makes Lillard’s inability to get a face-to-face sit-down with Aldridge in that 11th hour trip to Los Angeles less shocking.
"...I wrote a column two seasons ago about Portland potentially alienating Aldridge by going too far with the Lillard-palooza. Aldridge reached and out told me how much he liked the column. The Blazers decided prior to last season that they’d spend Aldridge’s final season under contract celebrating his milestones, pitching him as the all-time Mr. Trail Blazer."
While this won't make things sit any easier with Blazers fans, it's at least something to consider before the inevitable blame game is played regarding L.A's exit.
Follow our Portland Trail Blazers team page for the latest Blazers rumors!
Back to the Portland Trail Blazers Newsfeed