UPDATE: The Suns have signed free agent Tyson Chandler, adding even more incentive for LaMarcus Aldridge to come to Phoenix and play alongside a defensive-minded center who could make up for some of his shortcomings on that end.
The Phoenix Suns enter the 2015 NBA free agency period with their sights set on luring in a superstar. It’s a lofty goal for a franchise that hasn’t accomplished that sort of feat since 2004 when the Suns brought Steve Nash to the Valley, but with names like Kevin Love, LaMarcus Aldridge and Paul Millsap on the market, the front office absolutely has to try.
Realistically, general manager Ryan McDonough probably knows that Phoenix is a long shot to be seriously considered by these kinds of star players. But since the Suns have earned a sit-down meeting with Aldridge tonight, let’s take a look at what McDonough’s pitch to LMA should be.
Hi LaMarcus, thanks for coming down here. You enjoying this 110 degree weather? Probably a bit different than what you’re used to up in Portland, even my normally immaculate combover is giving me problems today! Anyway, go ahead and have a seat right there and we’ll get started.
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Look, I’ll be completely honest with you, LaMarcus: we know we’re probably not high on your priority list this summer. We obviously appreciate you giving us the opportunity for this sit-down, including us with the seven other teams you’re meeting with. But we have realistic expectations about where we stand right now.
That being said, let me level with you for a minute, because to be perfectly honest you’d be a tremendous fit here. We believe that Markieff Morris and Marcus Morris are effective players in this league and we’ve got them on bargain contracts with the way the salary cap’s expanding, but if you were to join us here in Phoenix, we’d have the frontcourt upgrade we severely ceed.
We really like the idea of moving them to the bench since they’re on such terrific contracts and adding a couple of sixth men to bolster our depth in the process — with you obviously starting at power forward, you know, we believe you’re the best at your position in the league right now.
I wonder if the Suns are going to bring PJ Tucker to their LaMarcus Aldridge pitch. They played together for 2 years at Texas.
— Scott Howard (@ScottHoward42) June 30, 2015
It’s not just about us, though. We think we understand the various reasons why you might be leaving Portland and we believe the Suns would be a good alternative to some of those problems. For example, we’d completely understand if you feel slightly resentful about the way your team seems to be favoring Damian Lillard as the poster boy of the franchise instead of you. Here in Phoenix, you’d be the undisputed face of the franchise that you deserve to be in Rip City.
We also know that if you leave the Blazers, it might have something to do with wanting to contend for a title before you get into your 30s. Definitely can’t blame you there, and we’re pretty realistic about our expectations on that front as well; without a player of your caliber, we’re looking at another year of player development that would — at our most optimistic — end in a playoff berth.
But we believe Alex Len will develop into an elite rim protector to take some of the pressure off of you on the defensive end and that he could spread the floor with a midrange jumper on the other end. Jeff Hornacek here even tells us the big guy can knock down threes now!
So basically, if we added you to a roster of young guys like Eric Bledsoe and Brandon Knight, you’d have a backcourt that’s still improving, but is already prepared to compete. We could feed you the ball where you like to operate on the low block and one-on-one in the midrange, but the pick-and-pop options with you and our two point guards would be relentless and dynamic.
Suns at least could sell LMA on one of the more nasty pick-and-roll duos of those teams. Spurs tho
— Kevin Zimmerman (@KZimmermanAZ) June 30, 2015
I don’t want to speak for everybody, but we love that you added a respectable three-point shot to your game last season at the age of 28. We LOVE that. We’ve got some work to do on the three-point shooting front, but we just drafted Devin Booker, the sharpshooter from Kentucky. If you were to come down to the Valley, our top priority would be spreading the floor around you with shooters to make our offensive attack even more versatile.
Playing with young players can be tough, but we can’t think of a better leader for our team than you. Your veteran leadership and your game on the court would help us get the best out of the younger guys. We wouldn’t be competing for a title in Year 1, but this is a promising group of young players that would help take all the pressure off of you down the road. We think your game will age well and are prepared to clear out the necessary cap space to lock you into a max, long-term deal.
As far as the other teams are concerned, let me take a quick second to explain why they’re not better options than Phoenix. I’m not going to bad-mouth anybody, but LaMarcus, we just want to be frank about why you’d be a better fit here than anywhere else.
So, LaMarcus visit order again, starting Tue at 9 PDT: LAL, HOU, SA, PHO, DAL, TOR, NYK. (No need 2 meet with POR; they're already offered.)
— David Aldridge (@davidaldridgedc) June 30, 2015
In Portland, you’re looking at a franchise that’s ready to commit to Lillard as its primary superstar. You deserve better than that, and we can pretty much tell they’re blowing it up to prepare for you to leave. That’s what that Nicolas Batum trade was all about. With Robin Lopez and Wesley Matthews — who’s coming off that unfortunate and scary Achilles injury, by the way — both being unrestricted free agents, the Blazers are already looking to regroup.
Bringing back a core that could still compete doesn’t look like it’s possible anymore, and let’s face it, you seem like you’re ready for a change of scenery. The heat here seems unbearable now, but trust me, two or three months from now it won’t be nearly as bad. Winters in Arizona are just so much more enjoyable than all that rain up in Oregon.
Continuing to brace for LaMarcus Aldridge's departure, Blazers agree to four-year, $30m deal with Al-Farouq Aminu, league source confirms.
— Ken Berger (@KBergNBA) July 1, 2015
How about the San Antonio Spurs? The attraction of such a prestigious franchise makes sense. They’ve got a championship culture, you could play for one of the league’s best coaches in Gregg Popovich and you’d be joining a team with some of the best teammates in the NBA.
But don’t you see them treating Kawhi Leonard the same way Portland is treating Damian Lillard since he’s younger? And are you really sure you want to limit your legacy to being “Tim Duncan‘s successor?” It’s not a bad title, not by any stretch. But not long ago you said you wanted to be the greatest Portland Trail Blazer ever. Duncan’s shadow will loom over that franchise forever, and you strike me as a guy who wants to carve out his own legacy.
You could do exactly that here in Phoenix, and you could do so while still playing for a winning team, especially since you would be a huge tool for helping us attract more star talent next summer when the cap jumps through the roof.
Interesting report from @ESPNSteinLine on Aldridge. After 26 years of Dave/Duncan, do you want guy apparently jealous of teammate's profile?
— Dan McCarney (@danmccarneyNBA) May 1, 2015
We know the Dallas Mavericks could be another appealing option for you since you grew up there. But again, do you really want to live in Dirk Nowitzki‘s shadow? Even if he comes off the bench, that’ll always be his franchise. Just like Duncan did in San Antonio, Dirk led that team to a title. We’re still looking for the guy who will forever ingrain himself in Suns fans’ hearts and minds by leading us to a championship.
The Mavs are also losing Rajon Rondo and Monta Ellis, so they don’t have a backcourt right now. We have not one, but two guys who can feed you the ball where you want it in the post and out of those deadly pick and pop sets.
Report: There's a "99.9 percent chance" LaMarcus Aldridge will leave Portland http://t.co/HntyeSoJUI pic.twitter.com/50j6PRIOl9
— CBS Sports NBA (@CBSSportsNBA) June 25, 2015
The Houston Rockets are another great option. We know how good James Harden is, even before he finished second in MVP voting; the guy killed us here at US Airways last season. Knocked down a buzzer-beater on us one game, dropped 20 fourth quarter points on us another night, you name it.
But even if Daryl Morey somehow clears up enough space to make room for you and the max contract you deserve, he’d probably have to fleece the roster to do it. And are there really enough shots to go around between you, Harden and Dwight Howard? Our offense would thrive with you entering the fold. We need an elite one-on-one scorer when we need a bucket and you couldn’t be that guy in Houston.
The Los Angeles Lakers and New York Knicks can offer you a ton of money, but we’re betting you want to compete now. They’ll try to pitch you on the prestige of their organizations, and it’s hard not to appreciate that kind of history. But deep down, you know those two teams are still years away from putting together a title contender. If you were to join them, you’d be fostering a rebuilding project instead of playing for an actual competitive team — as early as this year.
The Lakers meeting with LaMarcus Aldridge went almost two hours. Source in the room said it went "really well"
— Ramona Shelburne (@ramonashelburne) July 1, 2015
Oh, and as for the Toronto Raptors, I don’t see them being a good fit, to be perfectly frank with you. They’ve got the cap room to sign you, sure, and we all know there’s a certain…appeal to playing in the Eastern Conference. But Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan are shoot-first guards.
You saw how little a fight the Raptors put up the last two years in the playoffs. Somehow I don’t see that environment being the kind of place you’d enjoy playing. We’ve got younger, hungrier players here in Phoenix that would follow your lead and be able to learn from you and ultimately, fight tooth and nail with you in a tough playoff series.
We’re perfectly aware that this transformation into a contender won’t happen for us overnight. But between your desire to play for a team that will allow you to win well into your 30s, to become the face of a franchise as you deserve to be, and to make max-level money, we believe we’re the best mix of being able to check all of those boxes.
Getting this out of my system: For LMA the Suns are the best mix of winning (with him) and being the #1 option out of all those teams.
— Kellan Olson (@KellanOlson) June 30, 2015
We know we haven’t had much luck in free agency since Steve Nash, but that’s exactly why you’d be such a great fit here. You’d be the guy who ushered in a new and exciting era of Suns basketball!
Sir Charles In Charge
We’ve never won a championship, but we’ve got the pieces to compete for one in the long-term if we can add the right star players to lead the way. We’re the fourth winningest franchise in NBA history, so we’re 100 percent committed to ending this five-year playoff drought with you becoming the new face to help us do it.
We think your game will age remarkably well in the long-term and with so much extra cap space the next two summers, we believe that we’d be able to attract even more star talent if you were to commit here. This team has a dynamic young backcourt and we could upgrade our perimeter shooters, our bench and add another star or two to put together another championship contender with that future cap space since Phoenix is an underrated city with warm weather, great fans when the team is worthy, and let’s be honest, beautiful women!
It’s our belief that the Phoenix Suns are one of the most prestigious organizations in the history of the NBA. We’re fully dedicated to restoring the greatness of this franchise and bringing it the championship it deserves. We can’t think of anyone better to help us get on that path than you, LaMarcus.
Do you have any questions for us?
Next: Phoenix Suns: Top 10 Free Agency Targets