So there's something up with LaMarcus Aldridge. Earlier this week, ESPN's Zach Lowe predicted the Spurs will "explore" trade talks this season, suggesting that Aldridge is not 100 percent off the board. It didn't get much traction, because it wasn't a solid "the Spurs are looking to deal Aldridge" and it didn't reflect any thinking on the part of the Spurs. Lowe's basic assessment was "the Spurs are too smart not to consider trading him."
That alone, like I said, didn't make many waves. Then the venerable Jackie MacMullan, of ESPN and CSN New England, had some things to say this week on the subject. It was in the course of a conversation, but her comments were ... provocative.
MacMullan goes on to say in the clip she would not trade for Aldridge if she ran the Celtics, as there is "some stuff going on." She doesn't explain what she means by that, and so it's easy to kind of pass off her comments as hearsay and innuendo. But it's important to remember that MacMullan is a Curt Gowdy Award Winner from the Naismith Hall of Fame and one of the most respected long-time reporters of the league. Combine that with Lowe's previous comments, and you can definitely say there's smoke.
Meanwhile, the Spurs themselves have denied the rumours, though the suggestion is they might reconsider their position if they find themselves out of title contention.
I personally have my doubts, since it does seem like the rumours are stemming from speculation as to what they might do if it somehow all falls apart in un-Spurs-like fashion. At the same time, Jackie MacMullan is not - as I've seen people suggest elsewhere - some unknown beat writer with no credibility trying to make a name for herself, so it's hard to dismiss the rumours completely out of hand. The references to "some stuff going on" certainly makes me wonder what it is she's talking about, what it is that she's heard.
