Aldridge says flight with assistant coach swayed him to Spurs over Suns
When LaMarcus Aldridge decided to sign with the San Antonio Spurs in July, it didn't come as a huge surprise. Reports linked the power forward to the Spurs for months, while it became increasingly clear his time with the Portland Trail Blazers was over.
However, Aldridge told USA Today's Sam Amick he was on the fence between San Antonio and the Phoenix Suns until old friend and Spurs assistant coach Ime Udoka swayed him. Aldridge listened to pitches from seven teams in Los Angeles last month, then boarded a private jet for his home in Dallas.
From Aldridge:
I was down to two teams, Phoenix and the Spurs. I thought (Udoka) was staying in San Antonio for the summer, so I was like, 'Hey, I've got a jet going to Dallas. You could get a flight from Dallas to San Antonio' ... so he gets on the jet, and I'm like 'you should buy your flight (to San Antonio from Dallas) on the plane.' He was like, 'I ain't buying no flight.' He's like, 'I live here (in L.A.) right now. I'm flying just to answer any questions that you have.' I was like, 'Man, you're crazy ... get off the plane.' He said, 'Nah, I’m not getting off.' So we rode ... and talked the whole flight. Everybody was making this big fuss about how I'm not going to be able to take shots anymore, or be the scorer that I am, and he was just telling me, 'We need a guy to score down there. Tim (Duncan) is older, and we need a guy to command a double team down there.' So I was like, 'Maybe I'm not a Spur, because I've been averaging 23 (points a game) for the last three to four years, and maybe I don't fit into y'all's system of let's all average 17.' And he was like, 'No, we're not trying to change who you are ... we want you to be you.' He kind of reaffirmed that they didn't want to change me, and that who I am is ok.
It's valid to question whether Aldridge and Tim Duncan can co-exist in the frontcourt, especially in the age of small ball. Two things the Spurs have in their favor however, are head coach Gregg Popovich and the precedent of being an organization that is a well-oiled machine. With Aldridge's mid-range game slotted at the four, Tim Duncan will move to center, a position he can handle given his defensive prowess.
As Aldridge alluded to, Duncan turns 40 in April and hasn't averaged more than 30 minutes per game since the 2012-13 season. When "Old Man Riverwalk" takes a seat, the lineup will go smaller with Boris Diaw at center.
Aldridge said he isn't trying to be Duncan, and was sold on the Spurs once Udoka - whom Aldridge played with in Portland during his rookie year - reaffirmed that wasn't the team's intent.
"That was what I was weighing: Go to Phoenix, be the face and the guy, or go to San Antonio and probably win sooner and be more blended in," Aldridge said. "And I was like, 'If y'all want me to come here and average 12 or 13 points, that's not who I am. I like scoring.' They were like, 'No, we want you to play in the system, but you scoring is needed here.' Once I heard that, I was fine."