Portland Trail Blazers forward LaMarcus Aldridge is set to become an unrestricted free agent in July, but it doesn't appear he'll be going anywhere. He indicated he plans to re-sign with Portland as a free agent because of the financial incentive in doing so.
Aldridge passed on signing a contract extension with Portland, which didn't come as a surprise to anybody. Nonetheless, the All-Star seemingly reassured fans his goal is to sign a long-term contract with the Trail Blazers after the season, when he can make the most money.
"Yeah, that's the reason why I didn't sign this summer," Aldridge told Forward Center. "It makes more sense financially to wait one year and play it out and be a free agent and then re-sign here where I can get double the money and it just secures my future here in this organization. So that's why I didn't sign.
"Definitely I want to be looking for that maximum contract. I don't think I'm going to hit that. I think that money kicks in in 2016, so I'm going to miss it by one year. So, that's sad to know, but for all the guys in 2016, happy for ya'll."
Aldridge was referring to the anticipated hike in the salary cap, which is likely to increase because of the league's new multi-billion dollar TV deals with ESPN and TNT. It's unclear how much the salary cap will increase then, but Larry Coon of Basketball Insiders speculated it could be a gradual increase of $4 million each season.
Aldridge averaged 23.2 points and 11.1 rebounds last season, and he earned his third straight All-Star invite.
