When the San Antonio Spurs swiped LaMarcus Aldridge in free agency, the Portland Trail Blazers lost a superstar pairing. Perhaps that wouldn’t have happened if he and Damian Lillard had a better relationship.
Previously, Lillard said he’d hoped Aldridge would be a mentor. And now, in an interview with Michael Pina of Vice, Aldridge acknowledged he would’ve liked to handle that relationship differently.
“It’s always tough for me to find that balance where I want to tell [Damian] not to do this or this is better. But I don’t want him to feel like I’m trying to hold him back from being who he wants to be. I do regret not talking to him at times, but also I feel like he was trying to find himself.”
While both players have said there was never a real conflict between each other, the soft-spoken Aldridge — who was drafted six years before Lillard — explained he moved into the corner and let the promising guard “do his thing.”
They coexisted, but after three years together Aldridge said goodbye to the only franchise he’d ever known. His departure moved Lillard fully into the spotlight.
If they had a better relationship, would that have happened? Though it’s a fun thought exercise, coming up with a strong answer is unnecessary. What’s done is done.
But it’s insightful to know how Aldridge viewed his relationship with Lillard and why they weren’t closer as teammates.