Blazers Almost Lost Former All-Star to Lakers Behind Kobe Bryant Recruitment

This former Portland superstar almost went to Tinseltown.

Mar 27, 2015; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Portland Trail Blazers forward LaMarcus Aldridge (12) celebrates with guard Damian Lillard (0) after making a basket against the Phoenix Suns during the second half at US Airways Center. The Trail Blazers won the game 87-81. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images / Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images

When the Portland Trail Blazers acquired his 2006 NBA Draft rights from the Chicago Bulls in exchange for the rights to... Tyrus Thomas (this really happened, we swear), power forward/center LaMarcus Aldridge quickly emerged as an exciting piece for a rapidly rebuilding post-"Jail Blazers" core. By 2010-11, the 6-foot-11 big man was an All-NBA Teamer, averaging 21.8 points, 8.8 rebounds, 2.1 dimes, 1.2 blocks and 1.0 steals for a 48-34 Portland squad. Aldridge was a foundational piece of several chippy also-ran squads in Rip City, alongside fellow All-Stars Brandon Roy (for a brief while, anyway) and Damian Lillard.

The Texas product was so impressive that he attracted the attention of Hall of Fame Los Angeles Lakers shooting guard Kobe Bryant, who was looking to form another two-star core near the end of his career. For his first eight seasons in the league, Bryant had served as the sidekick to MVP center Shaquille O'Neal. That dynamic duo went to four NBA Finals in five years, winning three in a row from 2000-02. A Rasheed Wallace-led Portland squad memorably led O'Neal and Bryant by 15 points in the fourth quarter of the 2000 Western Conference Finals, but found itself helpless to curb a scoring burst from the All-NBA superstars.

When chemistry issues inspired Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak to flip O'Neal in the summer of 2004, Bryant's Lakers fell back to earth. A blockbuster trade for another future Hall of Fame big man, Pau Gasol, rocketed the Lakers back to contention in 2007-08. That team went to three consecutive Finals, winning in 2009 and 2010.

As Bryant and Gasol aged, cycling through a variety of All-Star teammates, they saw their fortunes take a turn. Gasol departed for the Chicago Bulls as a free agent in the summer of 2014. Bryant, no longer the same player after a devastating Achilles tear, sought reinforcements — including Aldridge, as Ramona Shelburne of ESPN details now.

"Still, Bryant had tried to cajole the Lakers into fielding better teams around him in his final few seasons in L.A., recruiting free agent forward LaMarcus Aldridge, Miami Heat star Dwyane Wade, and encouraging a trade for Sacramento Kings star DeMarcus Cousins, sources said,” Shelburne writes.

The exact timing of these recruitment bids is not specified, but presumably it would be after L.A.'s ill-fated 2012-13 season, when Bryant and Gasol were joined by center Dwight Howard and point guard Steve Nash, both now past their primes (though Howard was still an All-NBA talent, a bad back prevented him from reaching his typical Defensive Player of the Year heights). Wade was already showing signs of slippage by this point, too, but would have been a fun running mate for Bryant on the wing. Cousins was still at his All-Star peak, and had not yet suffered the meniscus or ACL tears that would transform him from one of the league's best centers into a reserve.

After four All-Star and three All-NBA seasons in Portland, Aldridge finally did leave in the summer of 2015, linking up with the San Antonio Spurs. He wrapped up his career with the Brooklyn Nets in 2021-22, having ultimately been named to seven All-Star teams and five All-NBA teams, while finishing among the top 10 in MVP vote recipients three times (twice in Portland).

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