As you may have heard by now, the Los Angeles Lakers may have botched any chance of landing LaMarcus Aldridge though there were reportedly second round of talks underway.
To recall, Aldridge together with his group were far from impressed as far as what the Lakers had to offer. While the bright lights, endorsements and fame were something any player would expect, it was the basketball side of things that failed to impress them.
Kobe Bryant was there of course Aldridge threw a question at the resident Lakers star guard on how they would play together. Kobe likened Aldridge's situation to that of a former Laker (and now with the Chicago Bulls) Pau Gasol.
Apparently that pitch made a red flag and the basketball side of things was totally far from what Aldridge had in mind.
But it seems that it was not only the Pau Gasol pitch that was made.
According to sources, Kobe also mentioned that celebrated botched trade involving Chris Paul. Back in 2011, the Lakers would have gotten a great chance to land Paul had the NBA not stepped in to block the transaction.
What was that all about? Actually it was purely an example to cite Mitch Kupchak's team-building brilliance. That issue reportedly came into play when Bryant himself mentioned that he had lost faith in the Lakers before they eventually acquired Pau Gasol in 2008.
Depending on how one looks at it, it may have been better that Bryant found something else to say than a seemingly out of topic issue involving Paul.
And with that, it seemed that the Lakers have bounced out of the LaMarcus Aldridge sweepstakes which saw the San Antonio Spurs and the Phoenix Suns taking the driver's seat.
But why was a second meeting called?
From all indications, it seems that Aldridge is returning to see what the Lakers plan to really do as far as the basketball side of things is concerned. But this time, he will only meet with a select few that includes Kupchak and head coach Byron Scott. No more Kobe Bryant included.
It does seem interesting why Aldridge would return after being underwhelmed. But for the Lakers it is a new lease on life. Could Aldridge be incline to wear the purple and gold?
Well all that will depend on how convincing the Lakers will be the second time around.
