LaMarcus Aldridge Contract Extension Update

Kevin Pritchard has officially referred to Aldridge's contract extension as "complicated" but talks have begun to make some progress. Jason Quick weighed in last night on the situation...

Pritchard said the daily talks have been amicable and that the two sides "are in the same ballpark." The main holdup is basing negotiations on an unknown number like next year's BRI.

"But we are continuing to work at it," Pritchard said.

And HoopsWorld gives you a better understanding of the BRI that Pritchard keeps referring to in case you were wondering.

This pertains to the Blazers and Aldridge because the team doesn't know at this time what that figure is going to be and therefore cannot determine a salary for Aldridge. Brandon Roy's reported extension of $80-million already will take a large chunk of the Blazers' payroll in 2010 and the team needs to be relatively smart with how they spend their money despite the deep pockets of owner Paul Allen. The team also threw $21-million over three years at point guard Andre Miller and a possible extension could be in the future for big man Greg Oden.

Is the team still thinking max deal for Aldridge?

(And I gotta give the hat tip to my Dad today for checking in on early Blazers-related news before I can even pop open Firefox. You know your blog is rollin' when the family starts tossin' tips your way.)

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