Report: Spurs could get free agency meeting with Aldridge

One of the most frightening possibilities for fellow Western Conference contenders is that the San Antonio Spurs could seamlessly transition from Tim Duncan to another star big man - say Marc Gasol or LaMarcus Aldridge in free agency this summer - upon The Big Fundamental's retirement.

The latest report will do little to calm those fears.

"Sources around the league have been saying for weeks that the Spurs might get a hearing with Aldridge," Grantland's Zach Lowe wrote Tuesday.

Being granted a meeting with a free agent and actually landing him are rarely one in the same, and Lowe does add that neither Aldridge or Gasol are good bets to leave the Portland Trail Blazers or Memphis Grizzlies, respectively. But the very prospect of adding another superstar big to a frontcourt that includes rising star and Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard is tantalizing.

Leonard, for what it's worth, is a pending restricted free agent and it has long been reported that the Spurs purposely waited to lock in his expected massive raise in order to make major free-agent pitches this summer.

Duncan and Manu Ginobili are both on expiring contracts and, given their advanced age and wealth of success, are obvious potential retirement candidates, especially if the Spurs secure a sixth championship in June.

If Duncan and Ginobili walk off into the sunset, the Spurs could create maximum salary cap space by renouncing the rest of their free agents (including Danny Green).

Whether Duncan and Ginobili actually retire, whether the Spurs free up max space and whether they're legitimately in the running for Aldridge or Gasol remains to be seen.

The one thing we can be certain of, though, is that the Spurs will not go quietly into the night in the event Duncan and Ginobili do call it quits.