Rumor: LaMarcus Aldrige visits Boston

Fire up the rumor mill, things are starting to get mighty interesting. The latest bit of enticing news focuses on a rumor that LaMarcus Aldridge visited Boston last week, fueling rampant speculation that the free agent forward is considering a move to the Celtics.

On Friday a photo was posted on the Facebook page of CSNNE.com's A. Sherrod Blakely that appeared to show Aldridge waiting in line at the airport. The caption claimed that the photo was taken at Logan Airport, indicating that Aldridge was in Boston.

Considering it seems to show him preparing to go through airport security, this would suggest that he was actually on his way out of town on Friday. That leaves it a mystery as to when he arrived, how long he was in the city and what the purpose of his visit was.

Of course for eager Celtics fans anticipating that the team will make a big splash this summer, the interpretation of this photo can only mean one thing - LaMarcus Aldridge is going to be a Celtic!

Let's pump the brakes on that speculation. Remember when people said the same thing last summer about Kevin Love after he was seen high-fiving Rajon Rondo outside of Fenway Park? Love was indeed paying a visit to check out the city of Boston and seemed to be having a great time attending a Red Sox game, but that still didn't result in him joining the Celtics. He ended up in Cleveland, Rondo was traded to Dallas and the dream scenario of pairing the two All-Stars faded away.

How is this Aldridge situation any different? For starters, Love wasn't a free agent. He used the leverage he did have to push his way out of Minnesota, but Boston couldn't compete with the offer that the Cavaliers blew the Timberwolves away with, which was a package headlined by eventual Rookie of the Year winner Andrew Wiggins.

As a free agent, Aldidge can have his pick of suitors, for which there will be plenty.

There have also been rumors that Isaiah Thomas had dinner with Aldridge while he was in town. This has not been confirmed by a reputable source or from Aldridge's camp, but it does seem like an odd coincidence that Thomas re-tweeted a message on Saturday that Aldridge posted several days earlier.

Yessir!! RT @aldridge_12: Morning.... pic.twitter.com/lxAoXZ8RDy

— Isaiah Thomas (@Isaiah_Thomas) June 6, 2015

Is Thomas doing a bit of recruiting on behalf of the Celtics? We know that Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge has asked for Thomas' input already this offseason.

For now, take this rumor with a grain of salt. We don't know for sure what Aldridge was doing in Boston or who he met with. We don't even know if that picture actually was taken in Boston! That picture could literally be from just about any airport and there's no proof that it was actually taken the same day it was posted on Facebook.

Even if he was here, we learned our lesson from desperately hoping for the Celtics to make a Love connection last summer. Aldridge visiting Boston doesn't suddenly vault the Celtics to the top of his list. If the rumors are true though, what it might tell us is that Aldridge is at least considering Boston as a viable destination.