LaMarcus Aldridge joins Blake Griffin as another buyout addition for the Brooklyn Nets after giving up over $7m in salary to leave the San Antonio Spurs
Monday 29 March 2021 07:33, UK
Veteran big man LaMarcus Aldridge signed a deal for the rest of this season with the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday, a day after multiple outlets reported the two had agreed to terms.
The Nets tweeted out a photo of Aldridge signing his contract on Sunday night. According to multiple reports, the deal is for the veteran minimum for the remainder of this season.
Aldridge became a free agent Thursday after the San Antonio Spurs bought out the remainder of his $72m contract.
Aldridge joins a frontcourt that includes Blake Griffin, another addition from the buyout market. Blake Griffin signed a one-year free-agent contract with Brooklyn earlier this month as the Nets - in second place in the Eastern Conference - gear up to try to make a deep postseason run.
Aldridge, 35, was in the final year of a three-year deal he signed in 2017. He was making $24m this season, his 15th in the NBA, with The Athletic reporting he gave back $7.25m in salary to facilitate his departure from the Spurs.
A former second-overall draft pick by the Chicago Bulls in 2006 out of Texas, Aldridge has averaged 19.4 points and 8.3 rebounds over 1,024 career games (980 starts).
A seven-time All-Star, Aldridge has played for the Portland Trail Blazers (2006-2015) and the Spurs. He averaged 13.7 points, 4.5 rebounds and 25.9 minutes in 21 games with San Antonio this season.
Elsewhere in the free agent market, the injury-ridden Los Angeles Lakers added former Cavaliers center Andre Drummond after he agreed a buyout with Cleveland on Friday and cleared waivers.
Drummond, 27, has averaged 17.5 points and 13.5 rebounds in 25 games this season and arrives in Los Angeles at a crucial point in the Lakers campaign as they continue to struggle without LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
