LaMarcus Aldridge Hints at Free-Agent Plans by Playing Through Thumb Injury
Congratulations, Portland Trail Blazers fans.
LaMarcus Aldridge is yours to enjoy for the foreseeable future.
There are so many interesting angles stemming from Aldridge's decision to delay surgery on the torn ligament in his left thumb but none with a greater impact than this: His commitment to this franchise is strong as steel.
He previously intimated as much when laying out his plans for his impending unrestricted free agency. The 29-year-old could have secured a long-term extension last summer, but the NBA's current collective bargaining agreement discourages a player of Aldridge's stature from signing such a deal.
By waiting to commit, he gave himself the chance to sign a longer, more lucrative deal. It was a business decision and nothing more than that.
"I'm happy to stay, happy to be here, happy with the direction the team has gone the last year or two," he told The Oregonian's Joe Freeman last summer. "This has no impact on my interest in staying in Portland. I just want to get a five-year deal. I feel like that's the best decision on my part."
In case anyone hadn't understood his crystal-clear he message, he sent an even more direct one during the discussion.
"I want to be the best Blazer—ever," he said. "... The city has embraced me and grown with me. I have so much history, it just makes sense to stay."
It was a powerful statement, particularly when considering the source.
"Aldridge isn't the type to stay stuff lightly," wrote Grantland's Zach Lowe, "so it meant a lot—to everyone."
But ultimately, those were nothing more than words. And in this business, such things can often have as much meaning as a last-second shot in a lopsided game.
They could have been a reflection of how he felt at the time or even a glimpse into what he saw in his future. But they certainly didn't lock him into doing anything.
"Aldridge has done everything he can to make it clear he plans to re-sign," wrote CBS Sports' Matt Moore. "But free agency is about keeping your options open and weighing everything."
Aldridge can't know what's in front of him. The only certainty in his impending free agency is that no shortage of suitors will line up to sign the league's only player to post at least 23 points and 10 rebounds a night both this season and last.
It's a guessing game after that. Strange things can happen on the open market, and there's already some mysterious smoke billowing out of the Alamo City.
According to Lowe, several executives have mentioned the reigning champion San Antonio Spurs as a possible landing spot for Aldridge. Lowe mentioned multiple times he doesn't feel like this is a likely outcome but added the Spurs could have a max-contract slot waiting for the Lone Star native Aldridge if Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili both retire this offseason.
Even long-shot possibilities are ones worth monitoring in the uncertain world that is free agency.
At least, they were worth watching before Aldridge put all his eggs in the Rip City basket.
As both USA Today's Sam Amick and Yahoo Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski noted, Aldridge's courageous, selfless act sends a message of commitment that words never could:
"Meant the world to me because it takes so much more responsibility off me personally," Damian Lillard said of Aldridge's decision, per Jason Quick of The Oregonian. "But I think it means more to the team because he's our best player and he's pushing himself through pain for the stake of the team."
The Blazers need everything Aldridge can give.
He leads the team in points (23.3), rebounds (10.2) and player efficiency rating (22.4). Portland has outscored opponents by 7.0 points per 100 possessions when he plays and only 2.9 when he doesn't. To contextualize that gap, it's the same size as the one separating the surging Cleveland Cavaliers (plus-1.0) and the slumping Denver Nuggets (minus-3.1).
Further complicating a potential Aldridge absence, the Blazers have been playing without Robin Lopez (hand) and Joel Freeland (shoulder). Nicolas Batum has been battling a sprained wrist, which kept him out of Saturday's win over the Washington Wizards.
Portland's grasp on a top-four seed in the Western Conference was dangerously close to slipping away without Aldridge. But from a business standpoint, that didn't have to be his concern.
Any team mulling a max offer to Aldridge didn't need to see his commitment level to his current club. The 6'11" forward's production had already determined his value. If anything, playing through the pain and potentially risking something worse might hurt his chance at securing a Powerball-type payday elsewhere.
But that isn't the big guy's focus. As he told Amick, Aldridge is locked in on helping the Blazers as much as his body will allow:
"This wasn't a one-game thing. Once I said I was going to try, then I was back. And if it became too much, then I was going to have surgery. ... So as of now, I'm back. But if I get it whacked on or if something happens where I can't tolerate it and I'm not playing at a good enough level to help the team, then I'll have surgery. But as of now, I think they have done a good job of protecting it, so I'm back for the season and then I'll just have surgery in the offseason.
"
Faced with a frightening individual situation, Aldridge approached it from a team-first perspective.
The Blazers could have easily collapsed without him. In the closely contested Western Conference, small stumbles feel more like nosedives. Sitting almost equidistant from the top-seeded Golden State Warriors (five games back) and eighth-seeded Phoenix Suns (6.5 games ahead), this season could still wind up going really good or really bad for the Blazers.
Aldridge, bad thumb and all, is doing his best to keep it together. And the ramifications of that action extend well beyond the limits of the current campaign.
This is as close as he can come to re-signing with Portland without actually putting pen to paper. His upcoming free agency feels more and more like a formality—not because of his previous pledge, but rather due to his present displays of loyalty and commitment.
Unless otherwise noted, statistics used courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com and NBA.com.
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