Don’t figure on LaMarcus Aldridge being traded from the Portland Trail Blazers.
Talking with Craig Birnbach of KATU (via Ben Golliver of Blazers Edge), general manager Neil Olshey said that the Aldridge trade rumors were fabricated by the media:
“I think it comes from all you [media] — everybody fighting to be first with inaccurate information. I can tell you, LaMarcus Aldridge, you guys have known him longer than I have. And if he had asked to be traded, he would have told people that he asked to be traded. He never asked to be traded.
“The fact that I had breakfast in a hotel lobby with [Arn Tellem], one of my oldest and best friends who I worked with for seven years, who also represents Robin Lopez and Dorell Wright, along with LaMarcus Aldridge, probably doesn’t lead to the fact that we’re trying to trade LaMarcus Aldridge.
Previously, CSNNW’s Chris Haynes reported that Aldridge’s camp met with Olshey to discuss potential trade possibilities. Aldridge himself denied the report via Twitter.
Questioning blatant denials of the proposed reports doesn’t seem fair. Both Olshey and Aldridge have said they aren’t true, and who are we to say they’re lying? But there just seems to be too much existing chatter for the foundation of all this conjecture not to be true.
Not to say that everything we’ve heard is true. Perhaps none of the hearsay is, but 1) it’s a GM’s job to make us believe that, whether speculation is true or not and 2) I find it hard to believe that not a single report holds any merit.
The absence of significant talk over the last few weeks doesn’t mean Aldridge didn’t request a trade nor does it mean Portland hasn’t entertained the possibility of trading him. It could mean that, or it could merely mean the Blazers are taking their time.
Aldridge has two years left on his current contract, at which point he will become an unrestricted free agent. Olshey and the Blazers are under no obligation to trade him now if he’s actually unhappy. His leverage doesn’t go into effect until after next season, when he could use the looming threat of his departure to his advantage.
Were the Blazers to trade the two-time All-Star now, or even soon, it would be on their terms. They have the time necessary to negotiate the package that suits them best. No potential list of Aldridge’s preferred destinations need get in their way because again, he doesn’t have that type of power.
Should Portland be interested (or forced) into trading Aldridge, however, I’m of the mind the team should do it sooner rather than later. Waiting until the trade deadline, when teams get desperate, isn’t a bad tactic to employ, but you don’t want to wait so long that the offers on the table begin to dwindle.
Right now, the Blazers could presumably fetch a nice package in return for Aldridge’s services. Even if he doesn’t guarantee he’ll re-sign with the team in question, they have two years to convince him otherwise. Once two years becomes 18 months, a year or even less, that’s when the offers become a bit more tapered.
Teams aren’t going to pay an arm and a leg for a player who has the ability to leave and won’t guarantee he’ll stay. The longer the Blazers wait, the less time interested teams have to appeal to Aldridge, thereby aversely impacting the type of deal they’re bound to propose.
That’s assuming Aldridge is even on the block, of course. He and Olshey could be telling the truth. The media may be drumming up rumors because it’s the offseason and there’s nothing else to do. Something tells me we haven’t heard that last of this though—no matter what Olshey and Aldridge have said.
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.
