How the Loss of LaMarcus Aldridge Will Impact the Portland Trail Blazers

When LaMarcus Aldridge spurned the Portland Trail Blazers to sign a four year, $80 million deal with the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday, it signaled the start of what may be a tough transition period for the Blazers. 

In Aldridge, the Blazers lost a four-time All-Star who has carried them to their past five playoff appearances.

His exit came after Nicolas Batum was traded to the Charlotte Hornets, Wesley Matthews signed with the Dallas Mavericks and Robin Lopez and Aaron Afflalo agreed to terms with the New York Knicks, leaving Damian Lillard as the only returning starter from last year's 51-win team.

Granted, things can be a lot worse than having a franchise point guard to build a team around, and Lillard doesn't appear to be on his way out of Portland anytime soon after agreeing to a five-year extension with the team last week. 

But now that Aldridge is in San Antonio, the likelihood is that Portland will fall out of contention in an ultra-competitive Western Conference. Despite all the other departures, the Blazers would have probably been a playoff team with two star players like Aldridge and Lillard leading the way.

Guiding a supporting cast that includes C.J. McCollum, Meyers Leonard, Allen Crabbe, Gerald Henderson and Chris Kaman to the postseason is asking a lot of Lillard. 

The Blazers need to replace one of the most productive players in franchise history, as detailed by ESPN Stats & Info:

During the 2014-15 season, Aldridge came down with 726 of Portland's 3,760 total rebounds on the season, according to Basketball-Reference.com. That accounted for nearly 20 percent of the team's boards.

In 2013 against the Houston Rockets, Aldridge displayed how he can take over a game on the glass:

When you consider that Batum and Lopez combined for 810 rebounds last year, it's fair to wonder how the Blazers are going to make up for that type of output. This responsibility now falls on Kaman and Leonard, 7-footers who figure to get more minutes this upcoming season.

The bigger challenge for Blazers head coach Terry Stotts may be to come up with ways to put his players in a position to score. 

Aldridge was fully capable of creating chances at the bucket himself, finishing second on the team in scoring behind Lillard, but that's only because he missed 11 games. His 23.4 points per game bested Lillard's average of 21.

Like Aldridge, the next three top scorers for the Blazers in 2014-15—Batum, Matthews and Lopez—will be playing elsewhere next season. 

Perhaps Mason Plumlee—whom Portland acquired in a draft-day trade with the Brooklyn Nets—can help fill the void on offense.

The soon-to-be third-year big man out of Duke didn't exactly put up gaudy numbers in his first two years in the NBA but has shown glimpses of what he's capable of when given the opportunity:

The Blazers also acquired 2014 top-10 pick Noah Vonleh from Charlotte and agreed to a deal with former Los Angeles Lakers power forward Ed Davis, according to the Associated Press (h/t ESPN.com).

Vonleh didn't get much playing time during his rookie season with the Hornets, but maybe a change of scenery will allow him to showcase the skills that made him a top-10 pick. Blazer fans shouldn't expect him to turn into a star in Year 1 in Portland, however.

As for Davis, he's on his fourth team since being drafted by the Toronto Raptors in 2010, so fans shouldn't expect him to suddenly turn into anything more than a serviceable backup. 

The reality is that Portland is going to have an extremely difficult time making up for all their key losses this offseason. Had Aldridge re-signed with the Blazers, there still would have been hope that this team could stay in the conversation in the Western Conference.

Instead, it's going to be another couple of years before Portland recovers from Aldridge's decision to return to his home state.

Who knows, though: If Lillard continues to develop at the rate he's on, the Blazers may have a chance to attract a big-name free agent like, say, Kevin Durant, next season. It's a long shot, but that's really all Blazer fans have to look forward to right now.