TUALATIN - After all the recent reports that LaMarcus Aldridge was not going to return to the Trail Blazers, general manager Neil Olshey - in one of his regular telephone conversations with the All-Star power forward - asked Aldridge about it.

"I actually asked him how would you like me to address it," Olshey said. "He said, 'Just say it's not true. You and I know where we're at right now.'"

Multiple reports, including several by ESPN, have said Aldridge has decided not to return the Blazers, for whom he has played all nine of his NBA seasons. A team media relations member told the reporters that Olshey would take one question about Aldridge in his post-draft news conference Thursday before moving onto the draft, and it started the session.

"I hung up with LaMarcus about a half hour ago," Olshey said "LaMarcus and I speak multiple times every week. He was as bemused by the report as I was."

An ESPN report indicated that the Blazers' trade of Nicolas Batum to Charlotte on Wednesday was a sign that the Blazers were conceding that Aldridge was leaving, and that the Blazers were beginning to rebuild without him. Olshey reiterated several times that the reports were incorrect.

"It was misreported, it's not true," Olshey said. "I can tell you he has not informed anybody in this organization his intention not to return to this team."

Olshey added that the Blazers knew that Aldridge, a four-time All-Star, would attract plenty of attention as an unrestricted free agent.

"We've always known that LaMarcus is going to have a robust free agent market," he said. "It was a market we were going to compete in. It's a market we're still planning to compete in. But in no way has he given us any indication that he's not returning to the Trail Blazers."

-- Mike Tokito

mtokito@oregonian.com

503-294-7604; @mtokito