Lakers Get 2nd Chance With LaMarcus Aldridge

The Los Angeles Lakers pulled a rabbit out of a hat and landed a second free agency meeting with LaMarcus Aldridge

On Thursday, the Los Angeles Lakers got an unexpected second lifeline with free agent LaMarcus Aldridge. The highly coveted power forward had been reportedly unimpressed with the Lakers' presentation on Tuesday night because it had been focused on Hollywood and marketing.

On the second go around, the Lakers and Aldridge planned to discuss basketball on the court, rather than fame and opportunity off it. For the Lakers, getting Aldridge to sign in LA would alleviate a significant amount of the hurt and pain caused by waiting around at the start of free agency.

On Thursday morning, Greg Monroe delivered the purple and gold a heavy blow when he picked Milwaukee over LA and New York. While the Lakers had been waiting for the likes of Aldridge, Monroe and DeAndre Jordan to make decisions on their respective futures, a plethora of free agents had signed elsewhere. The latest in that line of painful signings was Ed Davis, who joined Portland on a three-year, $20 million deal.

The Lakers had repeatedly said they would like to keep Davis, but time spent waiting for decisions from Aldridge and Jordan meant that the purple and gold had signed absolutely no players. Despite crisscrossing the county, the Los Angeles Lakers' start to free agency could best be described as inactive. Nearly $1.5 billion worth of salary had been promised in the first 24 hours of NBA free agency, and the Los Angeles Lakers had not been responsible for a single dollar of that figure.

As rumors swirled that Jordan had been leaning towards signing with the Dallas Mavericks or LA Clippers and Aldridge had been enticed by the San Antonio Spurs, the Lakers miraculously pulled off setting a second meeting with the power forward in LA. Aldridge cancelled his meeting with Phil Jackson and the New York Knicks in order to make time for a second meeting with the Lakers.

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A second chance to get the premier free agent is wholly considered positive at this stage for the Lakers. It gives them hope. However, if Aldridge does not sign with the Lakers, LA will be putting up a roster that primarily consists of young and untested players, Nick Young and Kobe Bryant. That inexperienced roster is the biggest issue with the Lakers talking basketball to lure Aldridge to LA.

The Dallas native turns 30 in a couple weeks and selling him on a young roster that needs time to mature is a tough task, especially when the Spurs offer a roster that can win now. Further, Bryant is not expected to play past the upcoming season, and the past two injury ridden seasons have not exactly instilled confidence in his ability to be reliable in the final year of his contract.

Getting a second meeting is positive for the Lakers, but if LA does not land Aldridge, one would have a difficult time not labeling the free agency summer of 2015 as a colossal failure for the Lakers.

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