Portland Trail Blazers forward LaMarcus Aldridge told Yahoo Sports that while he grew frustrated with the team's direction last year, he never demanded a trade, and the moves Portland has made have satisfied him. 

Aldridge was linked to rumors of a trade demand over the summer, which both Blazers management and Trail Blazers forward Nicolas Batum denied. 

The Blazers addressed their starting center by adding Robin Lopez and boosted their woeful bench by drafting C.J. McCollum and adding point guard Mo Williams. They brought on Dorell Wright to boost their shooting. They even have Thomas Robinson who could still become a useful contributor. 

They certainly look like a playoff team. 

But is that enough? Aldridge was considered an afterthought to Brandon Roy, then an afterthought to Greg Oden, and still became the Blazers' best player over the past ten years. He's been consistent and productive, and is considered among the top power forwards in the game but has languished on lottery teams in recent years. 

Aldridge is a free agent in two years, which means that next summer would begin the traditional "make us a contender, trade me where I want, or I'll leave in free agency" year that most stars have used to join other stars. So this is kind of a huge year for the Blazers. They'll be better. But is Damian Lillard, Batum, and an improved bench enough to get Aldridge on to a contender? 

If not, or if the Blazers moves fall apart as sometimes these things just tend to do, this situation could change, with Aldridge's patience running out. The clock is ticking.