Lillard reveals Lamarcus Aldridge s withdrawal from the Trail Blazers due to poor communication

According to F/W contributor Vishvesha Kumar, nearly a decade after Aldridge left the Trail Blazers as a free agent, Lillard has a new understanding of what is really going on behind the scenes. Lillard revealed on his YouTube channel that Aldridge left the Spurs not because of self-conflict or personal rifts between the two stars. Instead, it was a product of poor communication and mixed information that caught both players off guard.

"He said, are you serious? I thought, I don't understand where the problem is. So I left the meeting with him, I just thought, can our relationship be saved? I thought, why are they asking me this question? So I walked into the car and I called Los Angeles, what's wrong, brother? I think, we should come to see you. Like, why do they ask me? He likes, man, you know, I hear people say this is your team, they tell me this is my team, they will do this and all the other things."

"I don't know who is talking about what. So, you know, it's too late now, like, I'm going to move on. That's what he said to me on the phone. So I thought, OK, brother, I thought everything was going well. I didn't even know that these things didn't exist. So we hung up and it wasn't long before he signed with the Spurs. I was even more confused because I thought, I've never even been to their office before today. I've never been in the office before today. So I thought, it must be like the rumor that people say. You know, they told me one thing. We were on different teams for four years and I was talking to him, like brothers, they never said to me any team or no that. "I've never even talked to them when I saw them in the arena or on the court, and they would shake my hands and like, how it was. We finally got the truth and like guys, it's really just what the other guys are saying. ”

Shortly after that conversation, news came out: Aldridge will leave the Trail Blazers in the summer of 2015 to join Popovich and the Spurs. This move surprised Lillard, who insisted he didn’t know that the management was allegedly pushing “whose team is this? Eventually, the two stars settled and clarified years later, realizing that their split was exacerbated by outside noise rather than any real disagreement. For Portland, Aldridge's exit marked the end of an era. The four-time All-Star player has been the spokesperson for the team before Lillard arrived, and his departure made Lillard the only cornerstone of the team's progress. While Aldridge has had success with San Antonio, including an All-Star selection and multiple playoff appearances, Trail Blazers fans still want to know what would happen if the two were together.

Now, in 2025, Lillard returned to Portland after two years with the Bucks. His time in Milwaukee ended in a bad way after an Achilles tendon injury in the playoffs, which will likely leave him missing for the entire upcoming season. Despite the setbacks, his return to the Trail Blazers was warmly welcomed, and fans hoped that he would end his career where his career began. The story of Lillard and Aldridge reminds us how fragile the NBA partnership is, not just because of talent or personality, but also because of the narrative and rumors circling behind the scenes. The failure of the pair could have been one of the most dangerous duoes in the league was not because of conflict, but because of poor communication.