LaMarcus Aldridge signing makes Nets overwhelming NBA title favorites

The Brooklyn Nets are landing LaMarcus Aldridge after his buyout.

After giving back $7.3 million of his $24 million salary to ensure a buyout from the San Antonio Spurs, LaMarcus Aldridge immediately became one of the top names on the NBA buyout market.

It seemed like the Miami Heat and Los Angeles Lakers would be the frontrunners for his services, but it appears as though the Brooklyn Nets are swooping in for another former superstar power forward who just got a buyout.

According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Aldridge will be signing with the Nets, bolstering their title odds in the process:

LaMarcus Aldridge joins the Nets

It seems almost unfair the Nets are getting Aldridge after landing Blake Griffin following his buyout with the Detroit Pistons. Griffin has looked like a revitalized player since joining Brooklyn for the last three games, and though he’s only averaging 9.0 points and 3.3 rebounds per game, he’s doing it in far fewer minutes (18.3 per game). He’s also been far more efficient, shooting 9-for-14 from the floor and 3-for-4 from downtown.

The Nets probably shouldn’t expect the same type of resurgence from the 35-year-old Aldridge, who was averaging 13.7 points and 4.5 rebounds in 25.9 minutes per game for the Spurs this year. However, he was shooting a tidy 46.4 percent from the field, including 36 percent from long range on 3.6 attempts a night. If he can spread the floor and put up points in his limited time off the bench, he’ll be contributing to the depth of a championship-caliber team.

Aldridge can really only play the 5 at this stage of his career, and he’s a minus defensively, but Brooklyn’s entire philosophy largely ignores that end of the floor anyway. While guys like Griffin and Aldridge aren’t what they once were, between those two, James Harden, Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, there will be plenty of recognizable names contending for a championship in Brooklyn this year.