LaMarcus Aldridge Best Spurs Free Agent Signing Ever?
The San Antonio Spurs have not traditionally been a hot free agent destination for star players to join. Some of that may have to do with market size, but much of it since the turn of the century already has core players added through the NBA Draft.
The Spurs managed to find star players like Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, Tony Parker, and Kawhi Leonard all using the NBA Draft, one way or another. Most of their signings have been about solidifying their supporting cast.
HoopsHype put together a list of the top free agent signing in the history of all 30 NBA franchises. The basic counting stats weren't valued as the top criteria for the choices. Instead, there was a greater weight placed on the accolades that were achieved by the player or by the team as a whole.
The choice for best free agent signed for the Spurs: LaMarcus Aldridge. Despite receiving recruiting efforts from the Los Angeles Lakers, Houston Rockets, Dallas Mavericks, Phoenix Suns, Toronto Raptors, and Miami Heat, Aldridge chose to come to San Antonio.
The Spurs don’t typically go after marquee free agents, but an exception was seemingly made in the 2015 offseason when the Texan franchise successfully recruited and landed LaMarcus Aldridge on a four-year, $80 million contract.
Among the pivotal parts of the Spurs' recruiting pitch to Aldridge in 2015 was the ability to play next to Tim Duncan before he retires, then taking over in his place alongside Kawhi Leonard for the long-term future. The pitch involved Gregg Popovich, Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, and Leonard.
Sources said the pitch Aldridge received Friday in Los Angeles from Spurs coach Gregg Popovich — about playing with Tim Duncan his final days in the NBA and then taking over for him as the Spurs’ frontcourt linchpin alongside Kawhi Leonard — resonated strongly with Aldridge. It was the Spurs’ second meeting with Aldridge. Popovich, Duncan, Leonard and Tony Parker all pitched Aldridge directly Wednesday morning, sources said.
It was impressive for the Spurs to come away with a commitment from Aldridge despite the competition they faced for his services. The team earned four playoff appearances during his time with the team, but it was overall derailed by Leonard wanting to depart.
In Aldridge's first campaign (2015-16) with the Spurs, he earned an All-Star appearance with averages of 18.0 points and 8.5 rebounds. He also helped lead the team to a Western Conference Semifinals appearance. The Spurs made it all the way to the Western Conference Finals during the following season in 2016-17.
After sliding over to the center spot full-time in 2017-18, Aldridge earned the first of his final two All-Star appearances. He averaged 23.1 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 2.0 assists that campaign. He followed it up with averages of 21.3 points, 9.2 rebounds, and 2.4 assists in his final All-Star campaign.
The Spurs traded Leonard in the summer of 2018, which then brought DeMar DeRozan to San Antonio. He formed a respectable duo with Aldridge, but there just was no longer the talent in place to contend at a high-level going forward.
Aldridge played five full seasons with the organization before reaching a buyout agreement in 2021. He played five games with the Brooklyn Nets before having to step away from basketball due to a heart problem.
After spending the end of the 2020-21 campaign possibly headed for forced retirement, Aldridge returned to the game and played 47 more games last season. He remains unsigned in NBA free agency at this time.
For the Spurs, the honorable mentions for best free agent signing ever included Robert Horry and Bruce Bowen.
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