The Brooklyn Nets were not satisfied with the signing of Blake Griffin after his buyout in Detroit, as they added former San Antonio Spurs big man LaMarcus Aldridge to the fray on Saturday.
Despite rumored overtures from the Heat, the seven-time All-Star saw an opportunity to chase a championship alongside Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and James Harden and jumped at it.
Aldridge is scoring just 13.7 points per game this season, which is his lowest total since his rookie year, to go along with 4.5 rebounds per game, the lowest average he has amassed in a season in his career.
San Antonio thought it was better to play some of their younger players like Jakob Poeltl and Luka Samanic over Aldridge, even though they are fighting for a playoff spot. Aldridge is a 15-year veteran with tons of individual accolades, but his star is starting to lose some luster.
Aldridge’s signing was widely scorned on NBA Twitter, who are accusing the Nets of stacking the deck and assembling a borderline unfair roster in pursuit of a championship in the shortened 2020-21 season.
These people, apparently, haven’t watched a minute of Spurs basketball and think Aldridge is the All-Star player he was in Portland. He, decidedly, is not.
Free agent LaMarcus Aldridge plans to sign with the Brooklyn Nets, sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) March 27, 2021
LaMarcus Aldridge isn’t giving the Brooklyn Nets an All-Star
Aldridge is not going to suddenly take shots away from the superstars. With his defense evaporating, he is on this team to finish easy looks inside, hit his trademark 14-foot midrange jumper every now and again, and do dirty work like setting good screens and rebounding. That’s not a game-breaking addition.
In fact, the signing might be a bit concerning for the Nets. Griffin has played well in his limited time with Brooklyn, and youngster Nicolas Claxton is already emerging as a potential finisher at the end of games. How will Aldridge skew Brooklyn’s rotation?
Aldridge is not a completely washed player, but it’s clear that his skillset is starting to decline, and doing the usual veteran thing of signing on with familiar coaches and accepting a reduced role to win a title isn’t exactly the NBA equivalent of assembling the Justice League.
The Nets were able to sign one of the greatest players in NBA history and perhaps the greatest individual ball-handler in NBA history, only to eventually pair them with arguably the best pure scorer in the league since Michael Jordan. But sure, signing a 36% shooter and a backup big man looking for a ring is one step over the line.
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