Trail Blazers: Is it time for a LaMarcus Aldridge / Portland reunion?

The Portland Trail Blazers are in the market to make improvements. Could one of the team’s moves be to orchestrate a LaMarcus Aldridge reunion?

The Portland Trail Blazers showed an incredible amount of fight this season. Before the season hiatus, the Blazers were a dreadful 28-37.

That’s hardly where Damian Lillard and Co. expected to be at the start of the season but the team was decimated by injuries and had to fight uphill the entire season.

To go from that to the performance we saw in the bubble is incredible and shows that when healthy, the Blazers aren’t a team to take lightly.

The team as of now cannot be considered a contender though, at least not yet.

Some additions need to be made this offseason and one of those potential additions could involve a long-awaited reunion.

It may finally be time for LaMarcus Aldridge to come back to the Portland Trail Blazers.

LA’s time in San Antonio has not gone as planned so far. The Spurs failed to make the playoffs this season marking the first time in 22 years.

Change looks to be on the horizon in the Alamo City and the departure of Aldridge seems to be a forgone conclusion. What team makes more sense for Aldridge than his old stomping grounds in Portland?

While the Blazers’ former power forward is considered more of a center now, Terry Stotts could certainly figure out the fit between him and Jusuf Nurkić.

While he wouldn’t solve the Blazers’ more pressing defensive needs Aldridge would provide size, spacing, and scoring.

While Zach Collins and a First Round pick may seem a bit excessive there are a couple of points to keep in mind:

First, the Blazers aren’t (or at least shouldn’t be) in any rush to sign Collins long term after his latest set of injuries. That’s not to say that he won’t resign, just that he likely won’t sign yet. It may be worthwhile to sell a young controllable player while they have the chance.

Second, while LA is certainly an aging talent, he stills holds value, more than an oft-injured player and salary filler. For a rebuilding (or rather retooling) team like the Spurs, obtaining first-round picks will be crucial. The Blazers can’t mortgage their future for Aldridge though which is why they should hold tight to their pick this season (#16) and add steep protections on future picks.

While at first, it may look like the Blazers are giving up a good bit, in reality, they’re trading salary filler, a highly protected pick, and a player they’re not committed to for a former All-Star with plenty left in the tank. Not to mention, DAME wants him here.

And at the end of the day, it may be as simple as that.