Spurs confirm signing of LaMarcus Aldridge
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The San Antonio Spurs actually pulled it off.
The Spurs announced the signing of unrestricted free agent LaMarcus Aldridge on Thursday. The deal was originally reported to be for four years and $80 million, but that number is likely to come in around $84.1 million now that the salary cap is set higher than expected.
It took quite a bit of maneuvering for the Spurs to make the deal happen, but landing a max-contract free agent in his prime is worth the juggling. The Spurs lost Marco Belinelli, Aron Baynes, and Cory Joseph in free agency, plus Tiago Splitter in a trade, then required Manu Ginobili and Tim Duncan to re-sign at substantial discounts to make the math work.
And because they're the Spurs, they also landed David West at the veteran's minimum and were able to retain Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green. This franchise is something else.
A four-time All-Star changing teams likely stands as the biggest move of free agency, and the Spurs landing the 29-year-old ensures a smooth transition from the Duncan era to the Leonard era. The Spurs have Aldridge for the back end of his peak, on a deal that won't look too bad even at age 34 in the new cap environment.
Aldridge had spent the entirety of his nine-year career with the Portland Trail Blazers. The mid-range maestro averaged 23.4 points, 10.2 rebounds, and 1.7 assists in 35.4 minutes last season and should help the Spurs on both ends - he's a great shooter from the elbows, a gifted post player, and a versatile and effective defender.
He'll wear his customary No. 12 in San Antonio, as Bruce Bowen has graciously agreed to let Aldridge don his retired jersey.