NBA Trade Rumors: Latest on LaMarcus Aldridge, DeAndre Jordan and More
The marriage between the San Antonio Spurs and LaMarcus Aldridge hasn't exactly been a fairy tale, so when the two sides reached a deal for a contract extension Monday, the news was met with confusion.
In fact, the Spurs explored trade scenarios with other NBA teams for Aldridge before the draft and over the summer, but they didn't find any suitors that made sense enough to make a deal, league sources told Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
For Aldridge's part, he wasn't happy with how he was being used in San Antonio, but he showed up to training camp in excellent shape and ready to move forward with a better relationship with head coach Gregg Popovich.
With the Spurs uncertain about getting better deals in free agency and Aldridge unsure if he'd get any long-term deals on the open free-agent market, both sides came to the conclusion that an extension was a wise option.
In the three-year, $72.3 million deal, the five-time All-Star foward will remain under contract through the 2020-21 season, with the final year partially guaranteed. Only $7 million of the final year of the deal is guaranteed, per ESPN's Zach Lowe.
Aldridge, 32, will have to opt into the $22.3 million player option for next season, and the extension will begin with the 2019-20 season. The former University of Texas standout is set to make $21.4 million this year.
In a lineup that had him clash with team superstar Kawhi Leonard at times, Aldridge averaged 17.3 points and 7.3 rebounds last season, down from his career averages of 19.1 points and 8.3 rebounds.
Clippers Listened to Trade Offers for DeAndre Jordan
So much for Lob City.
With Chris Paul now in Houston, the Los Angeles Clippers have an entirely new look, but they were close to moving another face of the franchise.
This past summer around draft time, L.A. fielded calls from teams interested in DeAndre Jordan, sources around the league told Lowe.
But the Clippers decided to keep him after conducting some due diligence.
They even considered a potential extension, per Brad Turner of the Los Angeles Times.
Should Jordan hit the market, he would be eligible for a max salary of $35 million, which means the Clippers would be locked in to a $70 million price tag for the duo of Blake Griffin and Jordan.
But with the Clippers still trying to find a new identity post-CP3, the team ultimately chose to put the brakes on re-signing Jordan this summer and may look to trade the high-flying big man during the season if they fall out of the playoff race or aren't on pace for a 50-win season.
In theory, trading Jordan should bring in a great talent, but finding a trade partner may prove difficult.
In the current climate, where teams are chasing the Golden State Warriors, no team is willing to break the bank for Jordan or break up their rosters. Only teams that feel they are one player away from contention would be willing to make the move, but the only team close to that is the Washington Wizards.
They could be Lob City 2.0 with John Wall throwing alleys to Jordan on the break, but the Wiz would have to be willing to trade either Marcin Gortat, Kelly Oubre, Jason Smith and an uprotected first-round pick or Otto Porter Jr. Porter has a huge contract, so a third team would have to get involved to make it work.
For now, Jordan will have to settle for lobs coming from Patrick Beverley and Milos Teodosic.
Bucks Almost Landed Richard Jefferson
Before Richard Jefferson signed a one-year, $2.3 million deal with the Denver Nuggets, the Milwaukee Bucks were serious suitors to land his services, league sources told ESPN.com.
The Atlanta Hawks waived Jefferson after receiving him and Kay Felder in a trade with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
To make room for the possible signing, the Bucks released guard Gerald Green in preparation for a deal with Jefferson after he was set to clear waivers on Monday.
Jefferson would have gotten the veteran's minimum salary of $2.3 million, putting Milwaukee $5,000 over the luxury tax.
Jefferson and Bucks coach Jason Kidd have a strong history. They were teammates for seven seasons on the New Jersey Nets, making two trips to the NBA Finals.
Ultimately, Jefferson, 37, chose to sign with the Nuggets to help them get back to the Western Conference playoffs.
Last season, Jefferson came up big for the Cavs, averaging 5.7 points per game, and he has a career average of 12.8.
