 In July 2015, one of the biggest free agent signings of the 2015-16 season, power forward LaMarcus Aldridge of the Portland Trail Blazers, allowed for meetings with contending and potentially improving teams in the league.One of the first meetings Aldridge had during the beginning of free agency was with the Spurs.With San Antonio, they not only resigned key players in 2014 NBA Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green to long-term contracts and confirmed Tim Duncan would return for the 2015–16 San Antonio Spurs season, but they were also motivated to trade Tiago Splitter to the Atlanta Hawks in order to shed salary to sign Aldridge to a maximum contract.