Mike Brown returning to the Cleveland Cavaliers wouldn’t be as big a story as LaMarcus Aldridge being traded to them.
No, I’m not penning just random thoughts (though I do sometimes). The Cavaliers have or had Aldridge on the brain at one point or another.
Per Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, the Cavaliers have fantasized about trading for the Portland Trail Blazers’ All-Star power forward:
Privately, the Cleveland front office has pitched a fantasy of trading young players and picks to Portland for All-Star forward LaMarcus Aldridge, sources said. Only, that’s never going to happen. Cleveland is far higher on its two top-five picks, Tristan Thompson and Dion Waiters, than the rest of the NBA.
Woj is right here. That’s absolutely never going to happen. But hey, at least Cleveland is dreaming big, right?
This report comes on the heels of Woj’s discussion about how Brown reuniting with the Cavaliers impacts their pursuit of LeBron James next summer. My guess is it does affect what happens. Significantly. And not in a good way.
Brown was shown the door just before LeBron chose the Miami Heat over Cleveland in what we can assume was an attempt to get James to stay. The Chosen One is apparently not a big fan of Mr. Brown.
“If they want LeBron, they better reach out to his crew,” one exec said. “LeBron isn’t a huge fan.”
— Ken Berger (@KBergCBS) April 23, 2013
But that’s neither here nor there right now. Come next summer, it will be a hot topic of debate. Presently, it doesn’t matter.
And truthfully, neither does this Aldridge rumor. The Blazers aren’t going to trade him. I’d be shocked. Beyond shocked. I’d be mystified, puzzled and probably a bit angry.
Though I have no special ties to the Blazers, they’ve got a promising core. Damian Lillard is a future star, Nicolas Batum takes steps forward every year and I have this soft spot for Wesley Matthews that I can’t really explain.
Then there’s Aldridge, perhaps the most underrated star in the league. His post game is refined, he has a nice handle for someone his size and his ability to hit the mid-range jumper so fluently is a commodity that’s difficult to find in big men. Short of the Blazers being blown away by an offer, I can’t see Portland dealing him.
And when I say blown away, I mean really blown away. Like something crazy. Like top-10-superstar crazy. Cleveland can’t offer that if it won’t deal Kyrie Irving. And I hope they wouldn’t. From there, Tristan Thompson and Dion Waiters wouldn’t get the job done. Or even close to it. The best the Cavs could do is put that offer on the table and hope Portland declines it with a straight face. Seriously.
It’s definitely time for the Blazers to make some changes. By “changes,” though, I really mean additions. They need a bench. It’s that simple. They would have been a playoff team if they had one.
The same can be said of the Cavs. They need to make some changes. Perhaps that entails giving up on LeBron once and for all and surrounding Irving with the talent he needs to make the playoffs. At this point, I would say it does. But they need to set their sights on the attainable. Aldridge can’t be had.
Unless the Blazers are into getting worse, that is.
Dan Favale is a firm believer in the three-pointer as well as the notion that defense doesn’t always win championships. His musings can be found at Bleacherreport.com in addition to TheHoopDoctors.com. Follow @danfavale on Twitter for his latest posts and all things NBA.
