David Aldridge is reporting something that we all kind of suspected:
Raptors did well in meeting with LaMarcus Aldridge, but it is unlikely he picks the Raptors, per source.
— David Aldridge (@davidaldridgedc) July 2, 2015
Aldridge is likely to choose either the Spurs or Suns. The former presents a real chance of winning, and the latter apparently impressed in their meetings as they brought Tyson Chandler along. Also, Phoenix has great weather.
This was always going to be highly unlikely for the Raptors, but just having the Raptors name mentioned in these kind of free-agency discussions is a positive. Not a huge thing, but at least a step in the right direction. This is important after the playoff exit the Raptors had, which had seemingly washed all the shine off the recent successes of making the post-season two years in a row (granted, in the East).
The ‘get’ of DeMarre Carroll and the pursuit of Wes Matthews lend a bit of credibility to the franchise as well. Mind you, that in this free-agency period there are a lot of players mediocre/somewhat above-average getting overpaid, and that appears to be a byproduct of the new CBA, and not actual overpayment. It’s hard for me to digest this bit, but the math adds up here so I’m going to go with it.
