Portland Trail Blazers forward LaMarcus Aldridge reportedly met with Paul Allen and Neil Olshey to discuss a long-term max extension, keeping the three time All-Star in Portland for three more years, on top of his current contract which has one more year on it.
Aldridge is coming off a career year, in which he led Portland to their first playoff series win in 14 years. The power forward’s performance in games one and two against the Rockets gained him national recognition. Aldridge put up back to back 40-point games on the road, proving to Blazermania that he was not a player who was content with regular season success.
The last few maximum deals that the Blazers have handed out have not exactly completely panned out, going back to Brandon Roy’s deal which ended up becoming a contract that Portland got rid of completely through the amnesty clause. Roy was told by medical staff that he should retire, and did so only a year after signing his deal, which was in the range of $85 million.
The exciting thing about Aldridge is that he has had a relatively injury-free career, and does not take the beating that a lot of players do who attack the paint or play a careless style of basketball. Aldridge has made a name for himself shooting midrange jumpers, and also adding to his game diverse post moves. Again, games one and two of the Blazers-Rockets series offer the best resume of Aldridge’s career, and add reason to why a max contract makes sense for him.
If Aldridge chooses not to sign the extension, the power forward would become an unrestricted free agent at the end of next season. Portland would still be the best place for him financially, as the Blazers would be the only team that could offer him a five-year contract at over $100 million.
While it makes sense for the Blazers to offer their star an extension, it also makes sense for Aldridge to wait and sign a bigger deal when he can. But let’s say he doesn’t re-sign with the Blazers, can Portland afford to lose Aldridge?
Probably not. Aldridge is playing basketball at a high level, and Blazers fans just have a taste of what he is capable of doing in the playoffs. Aldridge did have a less-than-stellar series against the San Antonio Spurs, but it’s difficult to find anyone who did have a good series against the NBA champions, despite LeBron James and maybe Kevin Durant.
Portland grew tremendously this season, and Blazers fans owe a lot of that to their All-Star power forward. Stealing two games in Houston in the first round was just the beginning of this Blazers era.
It’s frustrating to see Aldridge shoot a lot of midrange jumpers, but it’s hard to question success. In this new contract, if it is signed, Portland would hope to see Aldridge take the next step into becoming more than just an All-Star, but a superstar.