As the trading deadline approaches, there's been plenty of talk about who the Blazers should trade for and what direction the team should take. As far as direction (I'll try to avoid pessimism in favor of realism), a couple things have become clear to me;

1.Brandon Roywill never be the same.

2Greg Odenwon't really be a factor until he is relatively healthy (will that ever happen?).

3. LaMarcus is for real, he is clearly the best player on the team, now build around him.

This leads me to the question: Who would be complementary to Aldridge's game? I'm hoping for at least semi-realistic options, but you can always dream so feel free to share those as well. Remember, this is about building around Aldridge and his style of play. I'm really nothing close to even resembling an expert, I'm just a huge Blazers fan (i.e. please bear with me).

Aldridge has established himself as a legit post threat, can still run the floor like a freakin' gazelle, shoots from inside 18' like a ninja (never seen ninjas shoot, but I'd imagine they're deadly), plays solid D and is now rebounding and blocking shots with tenacity. It seems logical to surround him with guys who can shoot the ball and pass it as well. So who should stay and who should go? Who would you like to see on the Blazers next toLaMarcus Aldridge? Some of my thoughts on this after the jump.

Miller- Personally, I love 'Dre as our PG (if only he were a better outside shooter), but I believe Steve Nash would be a sexy upgrade. Keep him or trade him for a shooting/passing PG.

坎比——我喜欢坎比。留住他。

Matthews- Wesley is a great energy guy who is becoming more consistent. He does a little bit of everything, and teams need guys like that. Love Matthews. Keep him.

Nic- Love Batum. His offense could be more consistent. He's young and talented and hasn't peaked yet (IMO). Rudy Gay would be an upgrade, but I don't see that happening after he re-signed with Memphis. Keep Batum.

Rudy- he would beperfectalongside Aldridge if he were consistent. What the heck happened to that guy? It seemed like he was over his pouty homesick ways after becoming friends with Mills, was improving in his game, becoming more reliable as a scorer/passer, and genuinely was happy to be lighting up opponents with 3-point shooting. New Rudy? Nope, fools gold. Now he's right back where he was before, inconsistent as ever. If Rudy could actually step up and become more consistent, he and Aldridge together would be unstoppable in the 2 man game--if.Don't get me wrong, Ilovewatching Rudy hit threes and toss alley-oops-- he's one of the most entertaining guys on the team when he's on. He's just not on enough of the time. I think the time has come and gone for Rudy to show the Blazers that he can be relied upon. Trade him.

We'll wait and see what happens with both Roy and Oden. The rest of the guys? I'm fine with dealing them.

I'd like to hear your thoughts on who you think would be good alongside LaMarcus. This is not limited to Blazers players.