LaMarcus Aldridge speaks on the lockout among other things – NBA Update
Portland Trail Blazers forward LaMarcus Aldridge recently spoke to reporters and touched on quite a few subjects. Among them was the talk of the town, the NBA lockout. Aldridge was speaking after giving tips to kids in his basketball
camp in Portland.
The player is one of the biggest names in the Trail Blazers roster and has been recognized now as one of the better power forwards in the league. His performances during the regular season were pretty impressive last time out and
he played a key role in helping the Trail Blazers get to the playoffs, where they put in a spirited fight against the Dallas Mavericks.
The star was asked about his camp and the motivation behind it and he gave a pretty heartfelt reply,
"I do it because it's a way to give back to the kids," Aldridge said. "It's a way to interact with them and hopefully give them one or two things they can take with them from the camp and use. I always enjoy trying to teach kids
the game, trying to give them the knowledge that I've got over the years."
Soon questions turned to the matter of the NBA lockout. The league and the players have not been able to agree on a new CBA, resulting in a season threatening work stoppage. The NBA owners and Commissioner David Stern are h**l
bent on securing a deal drastically different from the last one that heavily favours them. The players want something similar to the previous CBA even though they would take some cuts.
The two sides have not met very often recently either. Aldridge was asked if he was at all optimistic about the situation and his reply was pretty depressing.
"No," Aldridge said. "Both sides are pretty (far) off right now. So it's going to be a while."
Asked whether that means games could be lost, or even the whole of the NBA season for 2011-2012, something the fans have been dreading ever since the negotiations started,
"If that's what it takes to get a fair deal done, then yes," Aldridge said.
LaMarcus is the Portland Trail Blazers representative player in the National Basketball Players Association, which is conducting the negotiations on the player’s behalf. Therefore he has some insight into matters pertaining to
the lockout and if he isn’t optimistic then things are poised to go from bad to worse.
In light of the situation many NBA players are looking to go and play abroad. The NBPA has even encouraged such ventures and Aldridge was asked about his plans in this regard,
"I've thought about it; it's a possibility," Aldridge said. "My agency is looking into it."
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