MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- The box score sat at the base of the corner locker, next to a burgundy pair of sneakers and beneath a matching polo and black slacks resting on hangers.

LaMarcus Aldridge, standing in the locker to the left, kept turning his head to the right, kept turning his gaze down, stealing glances at the white sheet of paper, at the numbers from what could be his final game as a Portland Trail Blazer.

He looked as he toweled off after a postgame shower late Wednesday following the Trail Blazers’ season-ending 99-93 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies at FedExForum.

He looked again as he pulled the polo over his head, his back to the room while a group of reporters waited to ask him about his future, specifically the All-Star power forward’s anticipated free agency this summer. (“I’ll cross that bridge later on,” he said.)

The numbers sat there, offering no sympathy, no relief. Only hard truths.

The Grizzlies had closed out the Trail Blazers in the first-round series, 4-1, advancing to play the Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference semifinals, and Aldridge had struggled, just as he had for much of the series.

He finished with 14 points on 5-of-18 shooting to go along with nine rebounds. He played 40 minutes before fouling out late in the fourth quarter.

“It hurts because this team is a whole lot better than what we've shown,” he said.

He looked back at the injuries they had been dealt: losing sharpshooting guard Wesley Matthews to a ruptured Achilles in March; the shoulder injury that slowed Arron Afflalo; the torn ligament in his left thumb that Aldridge played through since January after postponing surgery.

Back at the February trade deadline, when the Trail Blazers acquired Afflalo, Aldridge had high hopes.

“Things were looking like we were going to take over the West,” he said.

Then injuries. Then struggle.

“We were one of the top offensive teams in the league,” Aldridge said. “We never found that rhythm. That’s disappointing for us because we know this team is a lot better than what we played.”

He especially felt that way against the Grizzlies, both about his team and himself.

“We never played our best basketball,” he said. “I definitely didn’t play my best basketball. I have to give credit to them.”

All series, he battled former Trail Blazers teammate Zach Randolph, who nine seasons ago taught Aldridge what it meant to play physical and nine seasons later offered a slew of bruising reminders up and down the court.

With Randolph banging into him, and with All-Star center Marc Gasol looming, everything seemed difficult for Aldridge, who averaged 22 points but on 33 percent shooting.

And it seemed even more difficult because of the pain in his hand -- pain so intense that he blew a point-blank shot at the rim in the first half.

“I was just so frustrated with my situation because I never felt like I was myself out there -- a bunch of nagging injuries that were bothering me all series,” Aldridge said.

“This series was a lot of pushing and shoving, a lot of banging down low. I’m going to use my hands a lot more. I tried to play through it.”

He stood by his decision to delay surgery.

“Winning 50 games in one season isn’t guaranteed,” Aldridge said. “Being a division champion isn’t guaranteed. Being in the playoffs isn’t guaranteed.

“I didn’t want to waste this moment in time and I don’t regret it.”

But he said he will have his hand examined again soon.

“There was a 20 percent chance that it could’ve healed on it own,” Aldridge said. “I’m praying that happened; if not, then I’ll have surgery on my hand and I’ll just start healing up.”

Now comes uncertainty, for Aldridge and his team.

He’s expected to be a top target for the Los Angeles Lakers, New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs, according to reports by ESPN’s Marc Stein.

And though he has stated that he wanted to remain with the franchise where he has spent his entire NBA career, becoming its No. 2 all-time leading scorer, Aldridge’s future as a Trail Blazer seems unclear at best.

The same is true for the Trail Blazers in general, as only four players are under guaranteed contracts next season: Damian Lillard, Nicolas Batum, Meyers Leonard and CJ McCollum.

“I love our team,” Lillard said, after scoring 22 points on 8-of-19 shooting. “Hopefully I’ll see a lot of familiar faces [next season]. I’m happy with what we have.”

McCollum is a bright spot, and he especially showed that after a career-high 33 points and a franchise playoff record seven 3-pointers in Game 5. Leonard also offers promise as a sharp-shooting 7-footer who can help stretch defenses.

The Trail Blazers realized far too late in the series how valuable those two players were, and it was only because of them that they won Game 4 and had a chance to win Game 5.

“That’s not for me to say,” Aldridge said when asked if McCollum and Leonard should’ve played more earlier in the series.

He offered a similar answer when asked about what improvements he’d like to see the team make moving forward.

“That’s not my decision,” Aldridge said.

His decision is coming, one that will shape both his future and that of the Trail Blazers.

After the questions ended, Aldridge slipped on a pair of white headphones and scrolled through music on his phone, selecting just the right tune. He left the box score in the locker beside his, and exited the room.

The clock read 12:01 a.m. local time.

It was a new day, and for Aldridge, and the Trail Blazers, perhaps the end of an era.