If you didn’t know what was at stake, and who was involved, there was nothing special whatsoever about a group of four men heading out for lunch in Beverly Hills.
In reality it was anything but, with Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, accompanied by assistant coach Ime Udoka and assistant general manager Sean Marks, hooking up with free agent All-Star LaMarcus Aldridge to reinforce the message from their previous meeting on Wednesday: We want you.
The Spurs requested and received a second sitdown with Aldridge even though their initial encounter, which included Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Kawhi Leonard and Patty Mills, reportedly went well.