Like Love, Aldridge likes the Los Angeles area, and he has an offseason home near Bryant in Newport Beach. If a torch ever needs to be passed, Aldridge and Bryant can do it over dinner at Javier's Cantina, a favorite restaurant of both. Aside from his fitting initials, Aldridge's signing would be ideal because of his uniform number: 12. The Lakers would like nothing better than to close the book on all the ugliness of the Dwight Howard experiment by meshing Aldridge's arrival with their uptick in optimism now. http://bleacherreport.com/articles/...-be-leading-them-on-path-to-lamarcus-aldridge
Let's hope Kobe can sneak in a dinner after every team has met up with him. "I'll teach you how to be a champion."
They'd have to do some serious shuffling to make it happen. They'd probably have to find takers for Papanikaloau, Prigioni, Terrance Jones, and more. They'd have to do a LOT of shuffling to make enough room for him just like the Spurs except I don't think Houston would be able to bring back as many of their role players.
Well maybe Kobe can convince him with a helicopter ride for free to the practices ... Any news on who's gonna be in the meeting with LMA besides Mitch and Jim? Kobe? Magic?
Steve Kyler's take on it. He also says that the Spurs have been long been considered the leaders in this race.
Clearly he got rid of his stuttering problem and wanted to reflect that in his online personality as well.
If signing Aldridge means we trade all our youth, the picks we suffered the last 2 years to get, the only assets we have, I'll be pissed. Enough of this collect a super-team, try and win now and suffer for years after because of going for it. That's what getting Nash and Howard did to us, and even though we did make the Finals, that's what Payton and Malone did to us a decade ago as well. If Aldridge wants to sign here, he'll have to play with the young dudes, if he doesn't want that, he can go to SA and play with the ancient dudes.
I concur... do not want to trade our young guys. It would be much smarter to build with what we have and sign someone that isn't so picky. We have the perfect blend of young soon to be stars and complementary players.
I think it's just an option on the table, not necessarily one that they'd want to do. It's just a sales pitch they'll use with him. I'm sure Mitch will tell him "these kids are going to make your life easier because a) they're cost controlled and we can find you help faster and b) they're really talented". If they do trade youth, I think it's highly unlikely they trade Russell and unlikely they trade Randle either. Clarkson would be my bet to go and I think he'd be attached to Kelly and Young for some veteran that Aldridge wants. Ironically it could be Tiago Splitter.
