LaMarcus Aldridge Cancels Meeting With Knicks — Will Meet With Lakers Again
The New York Knicks just cannot get out of their own way as coveted free agent big man LaMarcus Aldridge has canceled his scheduled meeting with the team, according to David Aldridge of NBA.com.
Sorry to be the bearer of bad tidings: LaMarcus Aldridge has cancelled his meeting with the Knicks today, per source.
— David Aldridge (@daldridgetnt) July 2, 2015
Aldridge, 30, has been by far the most talked about free agent since the negotiating period for free agents opened up this week. The longtime Portland Trailblazer has met with several teams thus far but obviously not agreed on a contract with any team. Now, he will meet with one less team with this latest development. Aldridge adds that LaMarcus canceled his scheduled meeting with New York due to the team wanting to play him out of position.
Knicks meeting was cancelled once it became clear NY wanted Aldridge to play center, something he is adamant against doing, per source. — David Aldridge (@daldridgetnt) July 2, 2015
The Inquisitr previously reported that Aldridge, who met with the Los Angeles Lakers during his initial meeting with a team during his visiting tour around the league, was not impressed with the team and their presentation. Aldridge apparently did not like that the Lakers primarily focused on the off-the-court aspect of playing in Los Angeles rather than the on-court direction.
But as Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports reports, Aldridge will meet with the Lakers for a second time.
The Lakers will get a second meeting with LaMarcus Aldridge today in Los Angeles, league source tells Yahoo Sports.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) July 2, 2015
A second meeting between Aldridge and the Lakers comes as a surprise, to say the least. But as Wojnarowski further explains, the reason for the meeting is for the Lakers to smooth out any issues from their first meeting and further discuss the prospect of Aldridge donning the Lakers purple and gold.
One source briefed on the Lakers second meeting with Aldridge told Yahoo Sports: “They want to see if they can get it right.” — Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) July 2, 2015
Aldridge felt first meeting with Lakers was too focused on non-basketball (Hollywood, branding, etc) and Lakers want to rectify it.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) July 2, 2015
Whichever team ends up landing Aldridge will end up with a perennial All-Star. During his nine seasons in the NBA, Aldridge boasts averages of 19.6 PPG and 8.4 RPG. This past season, the four-time All-Star posted arguably his best season yet, averaging 23.4 PPG and 10.2 RPG, finishing seventh in MVP voting in the process.
It appears that the Knicks will not be the team that will receive Aldridge’s services after this latest development. The Lakers, on the other hand, might have improved their chances as they likely will impress Aldridge’s camp with their effort.
[Image by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images]
