Spurs land LaMarcus Aldridge on reported 4-year, $80-million deal

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LaMarcus Aldridge is done with being wined and dined. He has finally made his decision.

The 29-year-old free agent will sign a four-year, $80-million deal with the San Antonio Spurs, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports reports. The contract will include an opt-out after the third season.

Given his status as the biggest name on the free-agent market, Aldridge set up meetings with nearly a quarter of the NBA. Aldridge patiently listened to pitches from the Los Angeles Lakers, Houston Rockets, Toronto Raptors, Phoenix Suns, Dallas Mavericks, New York Knicks, and Portland Trail Blazers before choosing the Spurs.

The Spurs had two meetings with Aldridge, spearheaded by head coach Gregg Popovich. The Spurs reportedly pitched a vision where Aldridge will bridge the gap to the post-Duncan era, and, of course, he'll have a strong shot of winning a championship.

The Suns, who made a last-second move to sign Tyson Chandler before meeting with Aldridge, came up second, Wojnarowski reports.

Opening up the cap room for Aldridge was no easy feat for the Spurs. They first had to reach cost-affordable agreements with Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green, before dumping Tiago Splitter's contract on the Atlanta Hawks. That gave them the opportunity to carve out maximum cap room to facilitate the addition of Aldridge.

Aldridge joins a Spurs team that lost no major components of a roster that won 55 games last season. Aldridge will presumably start at his preferred position of power forward, while the ageless Duncan slots in at center.

In the wake of Aldridge's decision, the Spurs are also reportedly targeting veteran free agent David West with a veteran's minimum offer.

Aldridge had spent the entirety of his nine-year career with the Trail Blazers. The four-time All-Star posted averages of 23.4 points, 10.2 rebounds, and 1.7 assists in 35.4 minutes per game last season. He's a tremendous talent that will now have the chance to play with Hall of Fame-worthy players under the tutelage of a genius in Popovich.

From David Robinson to Duncan, the torch now passes to Aldridge.