Portland Trail Blazers’ Jusuf Nurkic and Enes Kanter centers expected LaMarcus Aldridge to return to Rip City and join them on the attacking court. Although nothing has been defined yet, they were also surprised by the 35-year-old’s decision to sign with the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday after being bought by the San Antonio Spurs.
The two Frankish centers used Twitter to publicize their reactions. Kanter resorted to humor to mask his disappointment, while Nurk chose to post a sarcastic laughing meme from Magic Johnson.
Thanos? or maybe Jesus ๐ค https://t.co/xmd9BgFdBl
– Enes Kanter (@EnesKanter) March 27, 2021
– Jusuf Nurkiฤ (@ bosnianbeast27) March 27, 2021
Blazers playmaker Anfernee Simmons also agreed to follow the development that brought the Nets’ All-Star player count down to six.
Nah fr tho ๐๐๐๐ https://t.co/BqZOdEhvVK
– Anfernee Simons (@AnferneeSimons) March 27, 2021
LaMarcus Aldridge, of course, represented 2006-15 Rip City. He still leads the franchise in several statistical categories and is considered one of the best Blazers players of all time. The Blazers would be closely monitoring his situation with the Spurs in an attempt to bring him back to where it all started. Although he is no longer the dominant post-player he was at the beginning of his career, the seven-time All-Star could have added more depth to his squad.
Blazers superstar Damian Lillard has long been open about his desire to reunite with his former teammate. Even Aldridge himself said in the past that he plans to end his career in Portland.
But Aldridge couldn’t resist the fascination of winning his first NBA title, now that he joins a powerful squad emblazoned by Kevin Durant’s three-headed monster, Kyrie Irving and James Harden. Aldridge is Brooklyn’s second high-profile hiring in the acquisitions market, as he also hired Blake Griffin earlier this month.
Aldridge’s deal with the Nets only lasts until this season, so there is still the possibility of returning to the Blazers in the near future.
