San Antonio Spurs Rumors: LaMarcus Aldridge Available for Trade

The San Antonio Spurs are reportedly shopping LaMarcus Aldridge for a top-10 pick in the NBA Draft.

LaMarcus Aldridge is coming off two solid years with the San Antonio Spurs, albeit ones with decreased production from his time with the Portland Trail Blazers. He’s also coming off a disappointing postseason performance, posting numbers below his regular season totals.

Well, Aldridge’s time in San Antonio could be coming to an end. John Gambadoro of Sports Talk Radio in Arizona reported that the franchise is shopping the former Texas Longhorn. They want to move into the top five of the NBA Draft.

Sam Amico of FOX Sports followed that up, with the Spurs asking for a top-10 pick in Thursday’s draft.

Spurs already looking to move LaMarcus Aldridge – offered him to move into the top 5 of the draft.

— John Gambadoro (@Gambo987) June 21, 2017

#Spurs said to be dangling LaMarcus Aldridge in hopes of landing top-10 draft pick. "Watch out for the #Kings," one exec tells AmicoHoops.

— Sam Amico (@AmicoHoops) June 22, 2017

This comes hours after the reports came out about the Spurs shopping Danny Green. The motive for moving him remains unclear, but with Aldridge, the organization is seemingly eyeing a highly-regarded player in the NBA Draft.

Aldridge is coming off a season of 17.3 points and 7.3 rebounds per game, which are career-lows if his rookie numbers aren’t factored in. That saw him average 22.1 minutes, while he hasn’t put up anything below 30 minutes per game since.

The Sacramento Kings make for an interesting suitor, as Amico reported. They hold the No. 5 and 10 picks in Round 1, and are mocked to select De’Aaron Fox and Malik Monk, respectively, in the NBADraft.net predictions.

If the Kings take Aldridge’s contract, they would pay him the $21 million he’s owed in 2017-18. He also has a $22 million option for the 2018-19 season, which can be exercised after next year.

Other suitors could line up for Aldridge, too. Whoever is interested will need to have a hefty amount of cap space to take his deal, unless the Spurs are taking salary back.

Could this all be part of a plan to open cap space in free agency, as well? Aldridge is the biggest annual contract that the Spurs have on the books. Trading him and receiving a rookie pick’s salary would lower the team’s cap by about $15 million, depending on what pick they get in the top-10.

Next: Spurs Roster Projection Before 2017 NBA Draft

Will the Spurs trade Aldridge before Thursday’s NBA Draft?