Portland Trail Blazers: 3 trade packages for a LaMarcus Aldridge reunion

The Portland Trail Blazers may consider a reunion with LaMarcus Aldridge to help push the team into contention next year, and here’s how they could do it.

When LaMarcus Aldridge first stated that tensions between him and Portland Trail Blazers co-star Damian Lillard were overblown by the media, it was only a matter of time before the fanbase’s minds became enraptured with potential trade ideas.

The seven-time All-Star spent nine years of his career in Portland after being drafted by the Chicago Bulls at No. 2 overall and subsequently being traded to the Blazers for Tyrus Thomas. That would go down as one of the bigger draft day blunders in recent memory, but Aldridge’s time in Portland wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows either.

Portland media repeatedly manufactured story lines about a heated relationship between Aldridge and Lillard, which eventually culminated in the star leaving for San Antonio.

Now that the dust has settled and old wounds have had more time to heal, it appears Aldridge isn’t against the idea of a reunion.

With the Blazers in the midst of their championship window and the NBA being more wide-open than it has ever been this decade, now is the perfect time to pull a surprise trade to bring Aldridge back home.

Let’s discuss three potential trades for Aldridge that are actually based in the realm of plausibility and could push the needle in favor for the Blazers championship aspirations. Dare I say the last one would even make them title favorites?

The most commonly talked about trade idea for Aldridge floating around the internet right now involves swapping another newly acquired big man. By including Hassan Whiteside in a potential trade, extra players required to make salaries match aren’t necessary, which gives him extra value as a trade asset.

This move would have to be made under the assumption that Jusuf Nurkic is following his recovery timeline and will be able to contribute a significant amount to Portland’s playoff run even if not 100 percent healthy.

By making this trade, the Spurs net themselves an extra draft pick in exchange for a younger (but still talented) player at the center position. As this season progresses, Whiteside will likely prove he isn’t the locker room cancer he was in Miami. Playing under Terry Stotts and next to Damian Lillard can have that effect on you.

Since neither Whiteside or Jusuf Nurkic are threats from the perimeter, it probably makes more sense to ship one out (again, provided Nurkic comes back relatively healthy) for another star player without a redundant skill set.

Aldridge isn’t exactly a sniper, but he might look like it in comparison to Whiteside. LMA’s mid-range game is among the best in the NBA, backed up by the fact he led all players in 2-point field goals made last year.

By making this trade, the Portland Trail Blazers would clearly become an even better version of last year’s Western Conference Finals team. Aldridge and a healthy Nurkic are clearly superior to a frontcourt of Al-Farouq Aminu and Enes Kanter. Coupled with the development of the young core, this team has the makings of a championship contender.

However, putting Whiteside on the butcher’s block is perhaps not the only option the Portland Trail Blazers have.  Another valuable trade asset presents itself in the form of Kent Bazemore.

Centering a deal around Bazemore would allow the Blazers to hold onto Whiteside for the rest of the year and field the NBA’s best frontcourt rotation of Nurkic, Aldridge, Whiteside and Zach Collins.

Truth be told, the Spurs would probably prefer this trade package over the aforementioned one. Skal Labissiere is a promising young player that would fit San Antonio’s system well on a roster full of young guards. Bazemore is also the more easily tradeable contract, and the Spurs would prefer having a player they could flip again at the trade deadline if they choose to commit to a rebuild.

By pulling the trigger on this trade, the Blazers immediately become one of the most exciting teams in basketball. Rodney Hood would be forced to bump up into the starting lineup to assume Bazemore’s former position at small forward.

That starting five would throw caution to the wind by featuring virtually no perimeter defense in a league dominated by 3-point shooting. As the saying goes however, “The best defense is a good offense.”

And boy, would that Blazers offense be something special. Those five players combined for an average of 94.9 points per game last season. To put in perspective just how ridiculous that number is, only one five-man lineup in the entire league scored more than 40 points per game while spending at least 25 games together — last year’s Portland Trail Blazers team (43.8).

Granted, that points per game average would fall dramatically when everyone has to take their turn and share the ball. Still, an upgraded version of the highest scoring five-man lineup from last year would surely be a force to be reckoned with. And even when their shots aren’t falling, they have three of the best offensive rebounders in the entire league to scoop up second chance points.

This deal is by far the riskiest but also carries the highest potential upside for next year’s Blazers team. Adding two bonafide stars to this already stacked roster of NBA talent would send Portland skyrocketing up power rankings everywhere.

Additionally, this move would reunite Damian Lillard with one of his long time friends in DeMar DeRozan, as the Blazers double dip for stars in pursuit of that championship ring.

The Blazers would have to throw a truck load of assets at the Spurs to get this deal done; Portland does just that by sending three first-round picks, a former first-round pick on his rookie contract, and two valuable players on expiring contracts San Antonio’s way.

This move immediately clears the Spurs’ payroll situation for the future while Dejounte Murray, Lonnie Walker and Derrick White pave the way for the future. Adding extra assets on top of a talented young core is a recipe for success, so it makes the most sense to dump the pair of stars while they still have significant value in the trade market.

While this trade is bound to look like a win on San Antonio’s end years down the road, what matters to Portland is capitalizing on Lillard’s prime playing days and pushing the throttle full speed ahead in an effort to win a championship.

A starting lineup of Lillard, CJ McCollum, DeRozan, Aldridge and Nurkic is potentially the best in the NBA, and could go down as an all-time great team. Oozing with pure talent and an established chemistry, there’s no way this team could implode even if they don’t comply with the transition to 3-point shooting focused basketball.

Additionally, tossing so many draft picks San Antonio’s way allows the Blazers to keep their promising young core of Collins, Anfernee Simons and Gary Trent Jr. all intact. This Portland Trail Blazers team would be very good next year, and for years to come.

With the opportunity seeming more realistic by the day, perhaps the Portland Trail Blazers can leverage a move for one of the best players in their franchise history.