LaMarcus Aldridge ‘would like to re-sign’ with Portland Trail Blazers

At 28-9 and in the driver’s seat toward the NBA playoffs, the Portland Trail Blazers are having a storybook season in 2013-2014. That level of success wasn’t exactly expected for the young club, but it is apparently paying dividends toward influencing the team’s best player, LaMarcus Aldridge, to sign up for a long-term commitment with the organization.

Kerry Eggars of the Portland Tribune, while prompting the big man about his future, quoted Aldridge as saying this:

"“I would like to re-sign here. If they want to talk about it, I would talk about it. They haven’t yet, but I’m looking forward to the chance to do that.”"

That type of statement isn’t exactly out of the ordinary for a player who is virtually guaranteed to receive a max contract offer from a member of the “elite” in the Western Conference, but it’s a bit of a change from public perception. As recently as 12 months ago, Aldridge was consistently in the trade rumor mill, and there were even reports that he outwardly wanted a trade out of Portland.

However, winning does a lot to influence superstars, and Aldridge is having the best season of his career, averaging over 23 points and 11 rebounds per game and making a legitimate push at the league’s MVP race. Aldridge’s deal isn’t up until after the 2014-15 season, and because of that, I’m a bit skeptical that he’ll officially re-up any time soon, but this is an undeniably positive sign for the budding contender in the Northwest.