How the West Was Won, Possibly?

04 Jul, 2015

LaMarcus Aldridge received the answers he needed from the San Antonio Spurs.

And the Spurs apparently received the answer they wanted.

Ending a frantic few days of courtship — and perhaps cementing the Spurs as the preseason favorites to win yet another NBA title — Aldridge announced Saturday that he will sign with San Antonio and align with Tim Duncan and Kawhi Leonard to form what would figure to be among the league’s most-formidable frontcourts.

Aldridge, a Dallas native, posted the below message on his verified Twitter account:

The Spurs could not comment because of the league’s offseason moratorium. Aldridge’s representatives did not respond to requests for further comment beyond the tweet.

Aldridge, who spent his first nine seasons with the Portland Trail Blazers, will be eligible to sign his new deal Thursday.

Yahoo Sports/FOX Sports 1 NBA Insider Adrian Wojnarowski reported Aldridge agreed to a four-year, $80 million maximum deal

The Los Angeles Lakers tried to woo him to play alongside Kobe Bryant. The Mavericks tried to sell him on coming home. Houston and Phoenix — which cleared a ton of cap space in an effort to get Aldridge — made pitches as well, and Pat Riley flew to Los Angeles to try to talk Aldridge into leaving the loaded Western Conference, coming East and joining the Miami Heat.

Some of the pitches were more appealing than others to Aldridge. But how the Spurs responded to his questions, most recently in their second meeting in Los Angeles on Friday — a lunchtime chat where they were spotted by fellow diners who snapped photos that quickly went viral — obviously won the battle.

“So happy he’s going to be a Spur !!” Spurs guard Tony Parker tweeted.

The Spurs offered him a chance to play in his home state, a chance to join the most successful franchise of the modern era and presumably the right to take the torch from Duncan, who will return for a 19th season.

Fox Sports

Image Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports

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