NBA Playoffs Rumors: San Antonio Spurs Regret LaMarcus Aldridge Deal; Kawhi Leonard, Danny Green Look for Tim Duncan Protege

By Mitch de Leon
Houston Rockets Dwight Howard and Portland Trail Blazers LaMarcus Aldridge
Houston Rockets Dwight Howard and Portland Trail Blazers LaMarcus Aldridge

The San Antonio Spurs boosted its roster strength when the Kawhi Leonard team signed the widely coveted LaMarcus Aldridge during the NBA offseason. However, the deal appears to not be as beneficial as the basketball community expected it to be. Reports are circulating that the former Portland Trail Blazers star, who spurned the offers from the New York Knicks, Sacramento Kings, Chicago Bulls and Phoenix Suns, turned out to be a free agency dud. That is, the ex-teammate of Damian Lillard is reportedly a disappointment for the San Antonio Spurs.

Aldridge has been discussed to be part of the future Big Three of the San Antonio Spurs along with Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green. The said stars will supposedly replace Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili. That is, the three young basketball players are expected to deliver NBA championships to the San Antonio Spurs. If the current standings are to be considered, then Green, Leonard and Aldridge are expected to dethrone the Golden State Warriors' Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green and also beat Cleveland Cavaliers' LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love.

It appears, however, that Aldridge is not fulfilling his end of the bargain. Throughout the NBA season, fans of the San Antonio Spurs have been waiting eagerly for the former Portland Trail Blazers star to show off the skills that earned him the love and respect of Damian Lillard and his team. To their dismay, though, Aldridge has not impressed the viewers especially the sports analysts. With the upcoming games against the reigning Golden State Warriors, sources claim that Curry and his crew do not even look at Aldridge as a threat to their crown.

"That's not a guy the Warriors worry about," said Tim Kawakami of Aldridge during an interview regarding the NBA playoffs. He added, "There are players they worry about. [A] guy who shoots contested twos is not a guy these Warriors worry about."

In the San Antonio Spurs' recent defeat in the hands of the Golden State Warriors, Aldridge himself admitted that he and his team failed to take advantage of their strengths. He also noted that they lacked the focus to beat the team which recently tied the 72-win record of the Chicago Bulls under Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen.

Aldridge shared after their 92-86 loss to the Curry squad, "We definitely had some easy looks we didn't make. We had some breakdowns defensively. It's just about being sharp the whole game."

To add to the woes of the San Antonio Spurs, Aldridge injured his finger. A particularly aggressive play versus Andrew Bogut caused Aldridge's right pinky finger to be dislocated during the Golden State Warriors match.

"It freaked me out," shared Aldridge of his injury. He added, "I never had it happen to me before. I looked down, and it was going the other direction. So it definitely caught me off guard, and kind of threw me off tonight. It didn't really feel right the whole night. Every time I shot, it just didn't feel natural out there. So I was just trying to play through it."

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