Yesterday, it was reported that Portland Trail Blazers big man LaMarcus Aldridge was expected to leave the team this offseason in free agency. Immediately, rumors started spreading that the Los Angeles Lakers, San Antonio Spurs, Dallas Mavericks and others were on the All-Star's destination wish list. While that may be true, fans hopeful for a free agent splash may not want to get ahead of themselves. It's no guarantee that Aldridge goes anywhere this offseason.
"I hung up with LaMarcus a half hour ago," Trail Blazers general manager Neil Olshey said yesterday. "LaMarcus and I speak multiple times every week. He was as bemused by the report as I was. Thankfully I had other things to distract me today from getting too infuriated from the misreporting.
"I spoke with LaMarcus. I actually asked him, 'How would you like me to address it?' He said, 'Just say it's not true. You and I know where we are right now.' It was misreported. It's not true. I can tell you he has not informed anybody in this organization his intention not to return to the team. We've always known that LaMarcus was going to have a robust free agent market. It was a market we were going to compete in. It's a market we're still going to compete in. But in no way has he given us any indication that he's not returning to the Trail Blazers."
While these comments should help assuage some of Portland's worst fears, it's worth noting that Olshey went out and found potential replacements for Aldridge just in case.
The Trail Blazers traded for Mason Plumlee, 25, who has started 67 of 153 games for the Brooklyn Nets over the last two seasons and averaged 8.1 points and 5.4 rebounds. Plumlee isn't going to make multiple All-Star games like Aldridge, but he finishes around the rim and brings energy on defense. Olshey also dealt forward Nicholas Batum to the Charlotte Hornets for Gerald Henderson and Noah Vonleh.
The GM may sound confident that Aldridge isn't already gone, but his actions speak to a roster shakeup. Whether or not Aldridge is a part of that roster next season remains to be seen.
