The Brooklyn Nets just keep loading up for their championship run.
The Nets added yet another former All-Star to their arsenal, with LaMarcus Aldridge’s agent Jeff Schwartz of Excel Sports telling ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski that his client was headed to Brooklyn on Saturday.
Aldridge had agreed to a long-awaited buyout with the San Antonio Spurs earlier in the week, which allowed him to slot into the Nets lineup and try to help the franchise on its quest for the 2021 NBA championship.
The great ball they’ve been playing without their best player (Kevin Durant) over the past few weeks and the recent additions of Blake Griffin and now Aldridge have convinced at least the oddsmakers at 888sport that they are now the team to beat, sitting atop the sportsbook’s table for odds to win the NBA Championship with +275 NBA odds.
While the Miami Heat also spoke with Aldridge and were in the running, the 15-year NBA veteran and his personal team decided signing with Brooklyn and snagging one of their two open roster spots was the best move for him in the end.
Aldridge, along with Griffin, represent an extremely fruitful past couple of weeks playing the buyout market for the Nets. While they haven’t quite turned their frontcourt weakness into a strength, it’s definitely a lot less of a problem now.
The former Spur and Trail Blazer will most likely see the majority of his minutes at the five, where he will compete for time with veteran DeAndre Jordan—who has seen his playing time diminish significantly recently—and youngster Nic Claxton, who has burst onto the scene as what seems to be Brooklyn’s most dynamic and best all-around big man, even with the recent All-Star arrivals.
Aldridge made a mutual agreement with the Spurs on March 10th to keep himself and the team separate as they searched for a trade partner and subsequently discussed the buyout of his contract. The Dallas native last played for the Spurs on March 1st.
The former Texas Longhorn was named to five All-NBA Second or Third Teams from 2011 to 2018 and is also a seven-time All-Star, earning the honor most recently in 2018 and 2019. Aldridge is getting up there in age, but he still has a lot to offer the Nets on the offensive end in short spurts.
Those seven from Aldridge put together with the rest of the stars on the Nets brings the total to 41 combined All-Star appearances for the members of this Brooklyn team. Safe to say it’s championship or bust for Brooklyn this summer.
