Last summer it was heavily reported that LaMarcus Aldridge wanted out of Portland and was pushing for the Trailblazers to trade him immediately. However, the year came and went and Aldridge was still on the roster as Portland turned out to be a surprise of the league, upsetting the Houston Rockets in the first round of the playoffs before getting eliminated by the San Antonio Spurs. With one more year remaining on his contract, just Aldridge once again seek a trade?
According to Marc Stein of ESPN.com, the Trailblazers are under the assumption that the forward will not seek a contract extension at the end of his deal. He is set to make $16 million in 2014, but Portland appears more ready to trade him this offseason in hopes of getting something in return. Carmelo Anthony is hoping the New York Knicks pull off a deal.
ESPN's Stephen A. Smith stirred the NBA pot noting the New York Knicks have been very interested in Aldridge for some time. According to Smith, Carmelo Anthony wants the Knicks to make a run at Aldridge and was unhappy when the first deal for him fell through. Smith writes that Anthony was not happy when the Knicks snubbed a trade for Aldridge, Rajon Rondo and Kyle Lowry all in the span of one season.
"Melo knows the Knicks had a chance at LaMarcus Aldridge and blew it," Smith said. "He knows they snubbed a trade that would've brought Rajon Rondo to New York or Kyle Lowry in a separate deal. All season, he sat around, played hard and averaged 27 points per game, while the Knicks stood idly by and did nothing - primarily because Dolan wouldn't allow them to, telling the team in multiple meetings that the players weren't going anywhere."
New York could make another run at Aldridge this summer. Tyson Chandler is up for dealing and the Portland forward could replace him. The Knicks could not send Chandler to Portland for a player swap, but they could package together Iman Shumpert or Tim Hardaway Jr as two young prospects. It seems unlikely the deal would happen, but Knicks fans can dream.
Anthony is not happy that the Knicks continue to shuffle their feet on these upcoming deal. With free agency approaching in just over a month, the guard is looking for some clarity to Jackson's master plan. He is not going to take a pay cut if the Knicks are not going to do anything with. Anthony and Aldridge create an overlap at the small forward position, but it would at least show some strides towards putting together a better team for the future.
