Portland Trail Blazers: Are LaMarcus Aldridge And Damian Lillard The New Shaq and Kobe?
By Mark Wilson
Portland Trail Blazers: LaMarcus Aldridge could be on the verge of breaking up one of the best young duos in the NBA this summer
Why is LaMarcus Aldridge thinking about leaving the Portland Trail Blazers after spending his entire 8-year NBA career with them?
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Well, if you listen and buy into the rumors, it may be due to a case of jealousy concerning Damian Lillard.
In Aldridge’s eyes, he thinks the organization and fans have flipped on him and are showing more love to the Lillard instead of paying homage to the player that was there during the struggle years. Does he have a point? Maybe, but it’s not like him and Lillard have had any real verbal or physical confrontations, well that we know of anyway.
But is it really that serious? Has his mind played tricks on him long enough that he really wants out of Rip City? Or is he just escaping and trying to chase an NBA Championship?
I am not a professional sports player and I have no idea what signing an NBA contact does to a person, but I know how poor I was growing up and I know I didn’t have a bank account full of funds when I was in college either. When these guys are drafted, for most if not all, it changes everything: their lifestyle, their family’s lifestyle, friends and significant others. But it also does something that everyone seems to forget.
Money can turn you into something you could never imagine.
To be the best at anything, you must have a tremendous drive, self-worth — mixed in there has to be an ego. We as NBA fans have one, whether we are on the playground, backyard, REC League or wherever, we want to win. Does the same not apply to millionaires? How would you feel if you gave your all to a team, only to see some new guy come along to strip nearly all your shine away?
This is what might be happening behind closed doors. However, for as great as Lillard has been, Aldridge has still been better.
On the court, they seem to be the best of friends, the same way the Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant were. Outside of the arena, however, maybe it was something different. But who said that you must have a relationship outside of work?
It’s a shame because together they make a great team. The dribble penetration of Lillard mixed with the inside-outside presence of Aldridge is what many teams dream of having — and now, that might all come tumbling down if Aldridge stays in his feelings and lets his ego get the best of him.
Back in the day players didn’t get along either on the same team or playing against each other, that’s why the Dream Team was such a wonderful site to behold as 12 players got together with one common goal. But at least one player on that team was playing with a wounded pride, and that was Michael Jordan.
Portland Trail Blazers
His dislike for Isiah Thomas kept him off the team. Robert Parrish of the Boston Celtics was an aloof player, but Larry Bird and Kevin McHale never opted out; Shaq and Kobe hated each other but still managed to win three titles. Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen disliked Toni Kukoc and Dennis Rodman, but still managed to win titles with them. It all comes down to your ego.
Look at Kevin Garnett who would make teammates cry for being too hard on them, but yet everyone respected his intensity. Or even Paul Pierce who recently said that Deron Williams is pretty much a bum and runs from the spotlight while he was in Brooklyn. Pierce also stated that Ray Allen did not hang out with the team off the court, but on the court they were a dynamic team to watch.
The media is tying hard to draw a line between Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, but neither player is having that. So what exactly is Aldridge running from or concerned about? Does it really matter if it’s Lillard’s or Aldridge’s team?
To be honest it’s neither one of theirs. They are employees, they have a job, get paid and go about their business.
Who is to say that when Aldridge gets to San Antonio, Dallas or wherever he wishes to sign with this offseason, that he won’t have to play second fiddle again to Dirk Nowitzki or Tim Duncan?
What the fans think and know are two different things, but if Aldridge’s ego is that fragile maybe he needs to do some self-reflecting and stop running.
Aldridge is about to destroy one of the good young teams in the NBA because he can’t seem to quiet the voices in his head that Lillard is out to get him.
Again, this is only if you believe the rumors.