The San Antonio Spurs came out of the break by making some rather huge news. According to reports, they’re looking to pull off a LaMarcus Aldridge trade ahead of the March 25 deadline.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski notes that the Spurs are engaged on several fronts with contending teams about the possibility of moving Aldridge.
An impending free agent, the seven-time All-Star was just recently relegated to bench duties. This led to Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich noting that the two have decided to part ways.
Aldridge, 35, is in the midst of one of his worst seasons. The power forward is averaging 13.7 points and 4.5 rebounds on 46% shooting from the field.
But much like other veterans on the block leading up to the March 25 NBA trade deadline, contending teams will have interest in Aldridge. The fact that he’s on an expiring contract adds another layer to this. Below, we look at the top-three potential trade scenarios.
Aldridge trade to the Boston Celtics
- Spurs get: Carsen Edwards, two future second-round picks
- Celtics get: LaMarcus Aldridge
A deal of this ilk could make sense for Boston. The team is expected to be pretty active ahead of the trade deadline. It also has that hefty $28.5 million trade exception to use and is looking for help at forward. Whether Danny Ainge and Co. want to use said exception on an aging veteran playing under an expiring contract remains to be seen.
What we do know is that Aldridge would add experience and depth to the Celtics’ frontcourt and can play multiple positions. Under this scenario, San Antonio does well to add a young guard in Edwards as well as two future second-round selections. The team is selling low on Aldridge. It can’t expect much more.
Aldridge trade to the Dallas Mavericks
- Spurs get: James Johnson, Dwight Powell, Josh Green
- Mavericks get: LaMarcus Aldridge, Trey Lyles
The 35-year-old Aldridge is no longer the defender we saw earlier in his career with both the Spurs and Portland Trail Blazers. With that said, he has to be seen as an upgrade over whatever the Dallas Mavericks are throwing out in the low-post. It’s been a disastrous defensive performance from Dallas thus far this season. Adding Aldridge would help that while giving Dallas another capable scorer. Lyles would also be a nice depth piece.
In return, the Spurs opt to go with a combination of youth and experience. Remember, San Antonio is currently the seventh seed in the Western Conference. This trade scenario includes the Spurs bringing in two veterans, James Johnson and Dwight Powell, who could contribute in 2020-21. Meanwhile, adding rookie first-round pick Josh Green would be a boon moving forward.
Aldridge trade to the Los Angeles Lakers
- Spurs get: Talen Horton-Tucker, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Wesley Matthews, Jared Dudley, second-round pick
- Lakers get: LaMarcus Aldridge
We’re expecting Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka to be active on both the trade and buyout markets here over the next couple of weeks. While Los Angeles lacks true assets in terms of both young players and draft picks to pull off a blockbuster trade, something like this could be in the cards. Sure, giving up four players would hurt their depth, but the Lakers could replace them with other veterans via buyouts.
As for the Spurs, this trade makes a ton of sense. Young guard Talen Horton-Tucker is seen as a major up-and-comer. Some actually believe that the 20-year-old former second-round pick could be a core piece on a contending team. He would be the centerpiece here. Meanwhile, Caldwell-Pope could help out defensively over the short term.
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