The Lakers were the first team to meet with LaMarcus Aldridge and the meeting lasted close to two hours. Initial reports surfaced that the meeting between the Lakers and Aldridge went well, so most fans were hopeful they had done enough to convince the All-Star big man.
Fast forward about 12 hours and things have changed. According to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports, the Lakers didn’t make a strong impression on Aldridge and he is likely to make his decision soon:
Lakers didn't make strong impression in Aldridge meeting, sources say. Spurs can close on him. LMA expected to make decision fairly soon.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 1, 2015
After all that excitement, it’s time to go back to reality. The San Antonio Spurs were the favorites heading into free agency and now it’s only a matter of time before Aldridge decides to head back to his home state.
The Spurs have already traded Tiago Splitter to the Atlanta Hawks to create the cap room necessary for Aldridge. They must be very confident about their chances of signing Aldridge because they made the deal before they even got a chance to talk to him.
The Lakers need to move forward and focus their attention on other free agents. If they wait too long, all the free agents will be long gone. The idea of Aldridge in purple and gold was fun while it lasted, but in the end they are still in good shape.