Examining LaMarcus Aldridge’s potential fit with Heat, and why a trade would be complicated
As the March 25 trade deadline nears, the rumors and speculation will continue to multiply around the NBA.
San Antonio Spurs power forward/center LaMarcus Aldridge is the latest name to generate trade buzz, as coach Gregg Popovich announced Wednesday night that the Spurs and Aldridge mutually agreed that the veteran big man will not return to the team.
And the Miami Heat is among the teams that has spoken to the Spurs about an Aldridge trade, according to a league source.
“He’s been a great teammate. No problem there,” Popovich said. “We just think this is a win-win for both LaMarcus and the club. When an opportunity arises, that’ll be up to management, his agent and that sort of thing, and we’ll all move forward.”
Aldridge, 35, is earning $24 million in the final season of his contract. The fact that he’s on an expiring deal fits with the Heat’s plan to preserve salary-cap room and flexibility for future seasons.
Aldridge (6-11, 250) is also a big who could theoretically play alongside Heat starting center Bam Adebayo because of his three-point shooting ability. Aldridge has made 36 percent of his threes on 3.6 attempts per game this season, and he has hit 37.9 percent of his threes since the start of the 2019-20 season.
But Aldridge is not producing at the level he once was. He has averaged 13.7 points (lowest scoring average since his rookie season in 2006-07), 4.5 rebounds (career -low), 1.7 assists and 0.9 blocks (lowest since 2011-12) in 25.9 minutes (fewest since his rookie season) in his 15th NBA season.
Another glaring stat: The Spurs have outscored opponents by 48 points when Aldridge is not on the court this season, but they have actually been outscored by 58 points when he is playing. That net-negative trend for Aldridge began last season, when San Antonio was a minus-129 with him on the court and a plus-18 when he wasn’t on the court.
Most of those struggles come down to defense, with the Spurs a statistically worse defensive team when Aldridge is playing. San Antonio has allowed 114.2 points per 100 possessions when Aldridge is on the court compared with 106 points per 100 possessions when he’s not on the court this season.
ESPN reported Wednesday that “the Spurs are engaged on several fronts with potential trades for Aldridge and believe they can find a deal — perhaps even in the next week — and avoid the need to negotiate a contract buyout.”
Heat president Pat Riley certainly respects and has pursued Aldridge, a seven-time All-Star, in the past. The two met when Aldridge was a free agent in 2015 despite the Heat not having the necessary cap space to sign him at that point, but Aldridge ended up signing with the Spurs.
Fast forward to this season, and the Heat faces other challenges if it chooses to pursue Aldridge again.
To acquire Aldridge via trade before the March 25 deadline, the Heat would have to send out at least about $19 million in salary to absorb Aldridge’s $24 million salary, according to NBA rules.
That’s complicated because Aldridge is not a clear upgrade over starting Heat big man Kelly Olynyk, who would help Miami get to that $19 million threshold with his $13.1 million salary.
How about veteran Andre Iguodala, who is earning $15 million this season? It would seem unlikely that Miami would include him in an Aldridge deal because Iguodala is the small-ball forward coach Erik Spoelstra trusts to play late in games, and Aldridge would not be able to fill that void as more of a traditional big.
It would also be surprising if the Heat included any of its young assets such as Tyler Herro, Precious Achiuwa, Duncan Robinson or Kendrick Nunn in a potential deal for Aldridge.
Instead, ESPN NBA Front Office Insider Bobby Marks suggested, in a video posted onto his Instagram account, a hypothetical Heat trade package that includes center Meyers Leonard, guard Avery Bradley and forward Moe Harkless. Those three combine to make about $18.6 million, with Miami still having to include a minimum salary to reach the $19 million threshold and complete a trade for Aldridge.
The challenge with that hypothetical trade is the Spurs currently have just one open roster spot, so that four-for-one deal would leave San Antonio having to cut two players to get down to the NBA roster limit of 15 standard contract players.
That scenario presented by Marks also leave the Heat about $3 million under the luxury tax threshold, making it unlikely that Miami would use a $5.7 million disabled player exception or $7.5 million trade exception.
“Do you want to get rid of Kelly Olynyk?,” Marks said in the video posted onto Instagram on Thursday. “I personally believe that Olynyk is a better player than LaMarcus Aldridge right now. But if you take Olynyk out of the equation, you’re looking at guys like Meyers Leonard, Avery Bradley, Moe Harkless. Those three players get within that $19 million number, but does that do anything for San Antonio?”
If the Heat wants to add Aldridge to its roster, the simpler path includes a buyout agreement between Aldridge and the Spurs because he then becomes a free agent.
The Heat does not have cap space, but it has a few exceptions to work with to sign a free agent, including a $3.6 million biannual exception and that aforementioned $4.7 million disabled player exception. Miami can also add a free agent using the minimum salary exception.
The $4.7 million disabled player exception is the Heat’s biggest asset in its potential pursuit of a free agent, including Aldridge if he’s bought out, this season. That exception allows Miami to sign a free agent on a salary up to $4.7 million for the rest of the season, and the deadline to use it is April 19.
None of these exceptions push the Heat past the luxury tax line of $132.627 million, with the team currently about $8 million away from that threshold.
But it’s important to note that the Heat would have to trade or release a player to open a roster spot for a free-agent addition. Miami currently has the league-maximum of 15 players signed to standard deals on its roster.
This story was originally published March 11, 2021 at 12:37 PM.
