Five burning questions and answers about the immediate future of the Portland Trail Blazers in the wake of their five-game exit to the Memphis Grizzlies in the first round of the playoffs:

1. Will LaMa‎rcus Aldridge's sub-par series in any way dissuade teams from coming after him in free agency?

Good one.

There's no denying Aldridge played well below his usual standards against the Grizzlies, shooting just 33 percent from the floor and, worse yet, looking less than fully engaged at times ... particularly when Aldridge was the lone Blazer who accepted the team's offer to all players to fly home on their own after a Game 2 loss in Memphis or wait for the next day's charter.

But ... seriously.

The line is long and growing amid the rising whispers in recent weeks that Aldridge is far more gettable than we've been led for months to believe.

Early in the season, when the tale of his desire to go down as the best Blazer ever was being cited routinely, rival teams essentially thought they had no shot at Aldridge. But that's an outdated stance. Even though Portland is the only team in the race with the right to put a five-year offer on the table, it's no stretch to suggest that more league insiders expect Aldridge to bolt in free agency compared to the number expecting him to stay.

It's a turning tide that Aldridge himself ‎didn't do much to stem in a recent interview with my ESPN colleague Chris Broussard, who reported that the 29-year-old -- when asked if Portland was still the No. 1 destination on his board -- responded with a coy "we'll see."

2. So who are the leading contenders to steal Aldridge away at this early juncture?

You can't say loudly enough that it is early in the process.

Very ‎early.

We've only just made it to May, leaving two months for climates to change.

But the consistent word on the personnel grapevine at the minute informs us that San Antonio and Dallas not only both believe they have a real shot at signing him but are also legitimately in Aldridge's thoughts.

Does Aldridge, even accounting for his Dallas upbringing, really want to go home to North Texas or down to South Texas, where he'd essentially be casting himself as the heir apparent to either Dirk Nowitzki or Tim Duncan? Wouldn't he be putting himself in some awfully challenging circumstances to try to live up to the legacies of either of those certifiable legends?

Answer: We're hearing Aldridge connected to both of those teams so frequently that you can only conclude that neither idea scares him.

Yet sources insist -- at, yes, this early juncture -- that San Antonio sits near or at the top of Aldridge's list ... unless the Cleveland Cavaliers were to lose Kevin Love and then somehow manufacture a way to sign-and-trade for him.

The Knicks and Lakers, of course, also intend to enter the bidding. And there will surely be others.

3. So why is Aldridge so eager to leave?

The reasons aren't completely clear yet.

However ...

The rumbles are out there, and thus impossible to ignore, that Aldridge is said to feel somewhat underappreciated in Rip City because of the ever-growing focus inside and outside the organization on backcourt darling Damian Lillard.

Combine that with the inevitable wanderlust that sets in after nine seasons in the same city -- and just one trip beyond the first round of the playoffs in that span -- and a top-shelf big man long presumed to be a lock to stay with the home team is suddenly in play.

Aldridge won many admirers leaguewide this season for his willingness to delay surgery on his left hand and play through the pain of a torn ligament. But his relative struggles against Memphis only added weight to the notion that he's not entirely comfortable with his current circumstances, which has some Blazers-watchers convinced that Dame's ever-growing profile and stature is among the main triggers here.

4. ‎Can you name three GMs that will be busier than Neil Olshey this summer?

Not sure I can name one.

On top of the whole Aldridge situation that hangs over the franchise ...

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