The Los Angeles Lakers kicked off their highly aggressive approach to free agency Tuesday night, meeting with LaMarcus Aldridge shortly after midnight before flying to Detroit to meet with Greg Monroe. They'll meet with DeAndre Jordan sometime Wednesday. As for Aldridge, he's been their top target for some time.
Kobe Bryant attended the meeting. According to reports, the meeting went "well."
Been told Kobe Bryant was "very good" in Lakers meeting with LaMarcus Aldridge. Also that meeting went "well," for what that's worth.
— Bill Oram (@billoram) July 1, 2015
As the OC Register notes, that doesn't actually mean anything. No one will say if a meeting goes poorly. Based on internal reports, no team has ever had a bad free agency meeting. The phrasing is interesting, though. Was Bryant "very good" in that he was helpful and impactful, or was Bryant "very good" the way my 4-year-old was very good while we were at the DMV?
It is a good sign that Aldridge didn't immediately have his agent leak that he is never coming to LA, ever again and that he's actually selling his house there in order to gain more distance between himself and Kobe Bryant. So that's a plus.
The Mavericks seem committed to chasing DeAndre Jordan, which could make the race for Aldridge a two-team battle between the Lakers and the Spurs, who are expected to meet with Aldridge later this week. Until then, the Lakers will pursue their back-up plans, and Julius Randle will ask why they're pursuing power forwards when he's reportedly looked great in practice lately.
