San Antonio Spurs and veteran center LaMarcus Aldridge have mutually agreed not to return to the team, coach Gregg Popovich announced Wednesday night.
Spurs are engaged on several fronts with potential transactions for Aldridge and I think they can find a deal – maybe even next week – and avoid the need to negotiate a contract, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
If there are no transactions for Aldridge before the March 25 trading deadline expires and a purchase contract goes on sale, many of the league’s top teams are privately expressing interest in adding him as a free agent, sources said.
Aldridge, 35, a seven-time All-Star, has been given permission to “work on some opportunities elsewhere”, although he remains officially on the Spurs list for the time being. He has an expiring contract with a salary of 24 million dollars.
“He was a great teammate. There is no problem there,” Popovich said during his virtual press availability. “We just think this is a win-win for both LaMarcus and the club. When an opportunity arises, it will depend on the management, its agent and something like that, and we will all move forward.”
Aldridge missed eight of Spurs’ last 11 games before the All-Star break due to hip and quadriceps injuries. He stepped off the bench in the three games he played in that stretch, playing as a backup for the first time since starting with the Portland Trail Blazers in 2006-07.
Spurs won six of the eight games Aldridge played, entering the All-Star break with an 18-14 record. I’m seventh in the Western Conference rankings.
Aldridge have averaged 13.7 points and 4.5 rebounds in 25.9 minutes per game this season, dropping 46.4% from the floor and 36% from the 3-point distance. His average score and minutes are the lowest since the beginning of his year.
In Aldridge’s last game with the Spurs, he scored two points in 15 minutes in a 124-113 loss in overtime against the Brooklyn Nets on March 1.
“He did everything I asked,” Popovich said. “Right now, we’d like to do something that works just as well for him for our club, because it’s worth it.”
Aldridge averaged 19.5 points and 8.0 rebounds per game in five and a half seasons with Spurs, with whom he signed to the free agency after spending the first nine seasons of his career in Portland.