The Portland Trail Blazers are prepared to pivot in another direction if LaMarcus Aldridge decides to leave in free agency.

The Blazers purposely timed the summer of 2015 to have several of their own players become free agents alongside Aldridge to remain flexible in their next steps.

If the Blazers don't do a sign-and-trade of Aldridge and he leaves outright, they could fill their substantial cap space with younger free agents that will become good values moving forward with the cap increasing.

The Blazers are unlikely to get bad enough to rebuild via high draft picks due to the presence of Damian Lillard, so taking a small step back and pursue free agency is a more viable option.