Aldridge informed Blazers he will not be re-signing.

[ArbitraryWater]

No surprise at all. You could just tell after the Grizzlies series that he didn't wanna be back. I don't blame him at all since he's only been out of the 1st round once in his 9 years with Portland. The frustration obviously got to him and he knew that the Blazers weren't going to make a serious playoff run any time soon with the guys they had.

If he really wants a ring, San Antonio should easily be at the top of his list.

and that one time he made it out of the first was extremely fortunate, they were the worse team actually.

[fragokota]

best gif ever

[Springsteen]

[BlazerRed]

Does anybody realize that the Spurs have no money to spend on Aldridge?

They don't right now.. they COULD possibly move enough assets to make room. It's a long shot though.

[StephHamann]

They don't right now.. they COULD possibly move enough assets to make room. It's a long shot though.

So the only teams with Cap are Lakers and Mavs?

Cuban never gets FA so ALDRIDGE A LAKER CONFIRMED

[ralph_i_el]

He should have asked for a trade 2 years ago. Instead he told the team he wanted to wait so he could sign a longer contract. That is probably worse than what Lebron did.


I really feel like Aldridge is doing this not to win a championship but because he wants to go to a party city. I guess you can't blame him but I hope he doesn't try to sell this as Portland doing him wrong. Fans cheered for him win or lose. Blazers traded up in the draft to grab him.

It's just sad that small market teams are basically farm teams for major cities. The NBA needs to have franchise tags to avoid this. It waters down the league when a star decides to leave.

Small market teams do just fine. With the internet, you can be a massive star no matter where you play as long as you win games.

[buddha]

if Damian Lillard wasn't an overrated POS, Aldridge would still be in Portland.

[sixer6ad]

If Love does not resign with CLE, he will look there. Promise.

[RoseCity07]

if Damian Lillard wasn't an overrated POS, Aldridge would still be in Portland.

lol what?

[JohnnyBravo5]

He likes the Hawks. We can renounce all our scrubs and fit him easily. Start Sef and draft a back up big and we're in bizness

[Kblaze8855]

The NBA needs to have franchise tags to avoid this. It waters down the league when a star decides to leave.

A franchise tag wouldnt do anything in the NBA. Guys would just sign their deals to set up leaving a year later. You clearly couldnt franchise a guy forever. Thats pretty much what the NBA had before Oscar robertson sued. You cant just make someone work for you forever after their contract is expired.

The NFL cant even do that. Max of 2 franchise tag years...but their careers are so much shorter that 2 years is major.

In the NBA? You lose a guy a year later. They would probably just sign 4 year deals knowing the 5th year is their franchise season.

It would just be a churched up team option at the end of every max deal. So guys with leverage would just sign for a year less....get 20 million the last season...then walk.

It wouldnt change a thing.

And it shouldnt.

The first unrestricted FA in history was Tom Chambers in 1988. 41 years in.

The league got to **** players over long enough.

[ShackEelOKneel]

I really feel like Aldridge is doing this not to win a championship but because he wants to go to a party city.

They don't have these in Portland?

[ShackEelOKneel]

He might go to SA. Your owner is a mega billionaire with unlimited resources. This isn't a small market thing.

What? It absolutely does. When was the last time a significant free agent went to Portland because of Paul Allen?

[BlakFrankWhite]

If Love does not resign with CLE, he will look there. Promise.

Doubt it

Seeing Love become nothing more than a 3rd option must have discouraged other all-stars from joining.

Its been spurs and mavs

[ShackEelOKneel]

Small market teams do just fine. With the internet, you can be a massive star no matter where you play as long as you win games.

It isn't just about marketing, but about big cities and sometimes weather. The internet can't fix that. But even so, maybe you haven't noticed the attention players get in the likes of LA and NY, even when the teams suck. Nick Young for example went from known only by hardcore NBA fans on the internet when he was in DC to joining the Lakers and becoming engaged to Iggy Azalea.