San Antonio Spurs trade rumors update: Aldridge linked to move to the East

Martin Martinez Sunday, October 30, 2016

LaMarcus Aldridge during his time with the Portland Trail Blazers. | Wikimedia Commons / Plan9fromtheabyss

Despite being regarded as one of the best teams in the league, trade rumors still surround the San Antonio Spurs. Recent talks have concentrated on one player, LaMarcus Aldridge, who is still being linked to moves away from the team.

One team that is linked to be trying for Aldridge's services is the Los Angeles Lakers. They are definitely in transition at the moment, but the biggest concern is whether Aldridge is willing to go and rebuild with a team that may result in him not competing for championships soon.

In this case, other rumors are linking Aldridge to a move to the Eastern Conference, with the Atlanta Hawks and Boston Celtics being the primary targets.

Between the two, the Celtics appear to be the more favorable option when it comes to direction as they are only a few pieces away from possibly being in contention.

The Celtics have players like Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder and the recently acquired Al Horford. They are strong and are not afraid of playing hard to obtain the win.

However, it is noted that Aldridge's main reason for leaving the Blazers was that he wanted to be the top option in terms of the offense for the team.

With Portland, he was sharing the load with Damian Lillard which prompted him to move.

However, in San Antonio, it appears that Kahwi Leonard has taken over scoring duties. The early part of the 2016-17 season has shown Leonard having the bulk of the ball as he carries the Spurs.

With that, it can be assumed that Aldridge will want out to become the top star in another team. If he ultimately decides to move, then the Hawks can be the better option.

Naturally, if the Hawks and Spurs make a deal for Aldridge, Atlanta would have to let go of their main options like Paul Millsap which would open up the spot for Aldridge.

Dwight Howard isn't a scoring machine so Aldridge can have the bulk of the possession on offense while Howard picks his spots for scoring.

It could be a great situation for Atlanta if this were to happen.