PORTLAND — The Portland Trail Blazers inch closer and closer to their final form entering next season. Robin Lopez tweeted out confirmation of his new agreement to patrol the paint at Madison Square Garden for the New York Knicks.
“Excited to be part of the Knicks legacy,” Lopez said. “It’s going to be like ‘On the Town,’ but with way more box outs and dunks.”
Lopez’s deal is worth $54 million over four years, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Lopez had the two best rebounding seasons of his career with the Blazers in his two seasons in Portland.
He had become a fan-favorite as well as a favorite in the locker room because of his personality quirks and his competitiveness on the court.
Lopez’s love of all things Portland, particularly Powell’s Books, only made that connection to the fans stronger.
His first season in Portland was no doubt his best season, with a career-high in rebound percentage and a career-low in turnover percentage.
His arrival coincided with back-to-back career seasons for LaMarcus Aldridge, who had desired to play with a true center. Thanks to Lopez’s diligence in boxing out, Aldridge averaged double-digit rebounds in back-to-back seasons.
Aldridge had never before averaged double-digit rebounds.
Lopez proved to be an ideal fit alongside Aldridge. He was credited by many in the locker room for triggering the team’s franchise’s recent renaissance, which culminated in their first playoff series win in 14 years.
Nicolas Batum was traded last week to Charlotte. Wesley Matthews agreed to a contract with the Dallas Mavericks.
All that’s left now is for Aldridge to choose his destination.
It turns out that the last ditch effort from Damian Lillard to fly down to Los Angeles — as reported Thursday by USA Today — to have a meeting with Aldridge, failed to produce a face-to-face meeting.
According to multiple outlets, the two had a phone call instead.
It’s unclear whether Lillard even made the trip to Los Angeles.
Meanwhile, Aldridge was spotted in Los Angeles having another meeting over a meal with San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich, as well as Aldridge’s former teammate Ime Udoka, who is an assistant for the Spurs.
So, while Aldridge wines and dines with teams for a second time, Portland’s star guard reportedly could not register a face-to-face meeting.
But one suitor is apparently out of the race.
The Dallas Mavericks met with Aldridge earlier this week, but they’ve reportedly agreed to terms with Los Angeles Clippers’ center DeAndre Jordan. With Matthews and Jordan coming, there wouldn’t be enough cap room to give Aldridge the max deal he desires.
The Spurs have long been considered the front-runners for Aldridge’s services.
