Lakers Look To Acquire A Big Man As They Set The Table For Next Year

This was supposed to be the warmup summer, the one during which the training wheels get slapped on and everybody practices for the Real Summer of Kevin (Durant, not Love).The Lakers, though, have already turned lemons into something sweet, moving up in the draft despite the gnashing jaws of Steve Nash-shaped despair and grabbing dynamic point guard D'Angelo Russell second overall.All their financial eggs now go into the big-man basket. They want to talk to LaMarcus Aldridge, he wants to listen, and if all goes well for both sides, the four-time All-Star signs a four-year, $80-million deal to be the Lakers' power forward. Free agency begins Tuesday and Aldridge turns 30 two weeks later, a minor asterisk for a player who averaged a career-high 23.4 points last season and also 10.2 rebounds. Portland made it past the first round once in Aldridge's nine years there, and though the Lakers were coming off their worst season ever (21-61, ugh), you can bet they'd pitch him on a rapid revival. Aldridge already owns a home in Orange County, his initials are tailor-made for the Lakers, and it just so happens that his good plays were rewarded at Portland home games by an audio snippet of Randy Newman's "I Love L.A." The Lakers have enough money for only one big-name free agent, gathering about $23 million in spending power after declining the $9-million option on free-agent center-forward Jordan Hill in a couple of days. Aldridge would make almost $19 million next season after pulling down $16.3 million last season.