Portland Trail Blazers star LaMarcus Aldridge will enter free agency in 2015 instead of signing an extension with the team now. However, that does not mean he wants to leave Portland.
"Me not re-signing (last summer) wasn't a sign I didn't want to be here," Aldridge told The Portland Tribune. "It didn't make (financial) sense on my end. I'm not trying to hide from it. I just don't want that to be the focus. I want our focus to be to get better, to try to advance further than last year."
The current collective bargaining agreement makes it more financially beneficial for Aldridge to opt for free agency even if his mind is made up about returning to the Trail Blazers. However, as a free agent Aldridge will have a long line of suitors, starting with the Los Angeles Lakers. As Kobe Bryant's career comes to an end, the Lakers will be looking for a new star to build around and they could have their eyes set on Aldridge.
"The Lakers will be looking for their next franchise player with Bryant getting older," writes M. Jussim of Sports World Report. "LaMarcus Aldridge will get looks and while it's likely that he will be back in Portland, anything can happen."
The Lakers, 27-55 last year, are coming off one of the worst seasons in franchise history, and have long been known to be hunting for a star in free agency. The team could go hard after Aldridge, despite the three-time All-Star's comments about staying with the Trail Blazers.
"The Lakers...will have cap space with big contracts coming off of the books," Jussim writes. "They are preparing to spend big."
