Prized big man LaMarcus Aldridge has finally announced that he would be playing for the San Antonio Spurs after agreeing to a four-year contract worth $80 million with the NBA team.
The Spurs and the Phoenix Suns were reportedly the frontrunners in the race for Aldridge.
While the Suns already have Tyson Chandler from the Dallas Mavericks on board, they assured Aldridge of help upfront should he decide to sign up with them.
But in the end, it was the Spurs, seemingly the wisest of choices, who won out. A chance to possibly win the NBA title is undoubtedly among the things that Aldridge was looking for and the Spurs, despite their aging group of veterans, can surely provide just that.
Aside from that, it was a pitch from head coach Gregg Popovich that sealed the deal for the Spurs. Popovich reportedly said Aldridge could get the chance to play alongside Tim Duncan as he waits out his final playing days and then take over from the aging center. This seemed to have convinced Aldridge to jump on board.
Joining the Spurs will also allow Aldridge to team up with Kawhi Leonard as the future stars of the San Antonio franchise. With that, the Spurs can now look forward to a pretty mean starting lineup made up of Aldridge, Duncan, Leonard, Tony Parker and Danny Green, another rising star.
"That's a tough starting lineup right there. I'm not one to say who is the best, but that's pretty tough right there," said Spurs forward Kyle Anderson when he found out about Aldridge's decision to come on board.
The Los Angeles Lakers were also in the running for Aldridge until that meeting where the free agent reportedly didn't see the basketball direction and vision of the team. A second team meeting was held, but apparently that didn't pan out as well.
It becomes a homecoming of sorts for Aldridge since he grew up at the Dallas-Fort Worth Area and spent two years at the University of Texas in Austin.
