If Cleveland Cavaliers star Kevin Love were to leave in free agency, the team could end up signing Portland Trail Blazers forward LaMarcus Aldridge. Aldridge appears likely to test free agency and reportedly has the Cavaliers near the top of his wish list if their starting 4-spot becomes open.
Aldridge began the season seemingly as a lock to re-sign with Portland in free agency, but that may no longer be the case. ESPN's Marc Stein confirmed the previous reports that Aldridge appeared to be leaning toward leaving the Trail Blazers in July, and he added one interesting gem: Cleveland would jump to the top of his list if Love left.
"Yet sources insist - at, yes, this early juncture - that San Antonio sits near or at the top of Aldridge's list ... unless the Cleveland Cavaliers were to lose Kevin Love and then somehow manufacture a way to sign-and-trade for him," Stein wrote Friday night.
The two keys are Love leaving and the Cavaliers being able to complete a sign-and-trade for Aldridge. Most reports indicate Love is on the fence about staying in Cleveland, where he supposedly feels like he isn't an integral part of the team. Love, who can opt out of his contract at the end of June, has been linked to a number of teams, including the Los Angeles Lakers and the New York Knicks. In addition to both teams having the cap space to sign him to a four-year max contract, both teams have the big-market that Love is now enjoying. Both teams also would likely adapt their offenses to accommodate Love's offensive skill set, something that hasn't happened in Cleveland, where coach David Blatt often just has him floating around the 3-point line.
As for Aldridge, reports have suggested he's no longer sold on the idea of finishing his career in Portland. Cleveland could only give him a big payday by completing a sign-and-trade for him, something which the Trail Blazers may not be against if they're going to lose him in free agency anyway.
