Portland gave away reserve point guard Sergio Rodriguez -- who at best was going to have to fight for reserve minutes with Jerryd Bayless next season -- to Sacramento to save $1.5 million on the salary cap.

The Blazers preserved the nucleus of their roster and gave themselves a little more cushion as they hope to add another important piece or two through a trade or free agency.

On July 8, the NBA will set its salary-cap figure, probably at about $58 million. That will leave the Blazers somewhere between $7 and $8 million beneath the cap.

Steve Blake and Bayless are the remaining veteran point guards on the roster, joined by second-round draft pick Patty Mills of St. Mary's. That could change. General manager Kevin Pritchard confirmed the Blazers are considering acquiring another veteran point guard.

"But I don't want to be pigeonholed into one position," Pritchard said. "Let's go get the best player out there. Or two."

The Blazers have shown interest in acquiring Bulls point guard Kirk Hinrich. Hinrich, 28, has three more years and $26.5 million remaining on his contract, including $9.5 million next season. Portland forward Travis Outlaw, who turns 25 in September, will make $4 million in the final year of his contract next season. The Blazers will be far enough under the cap that they could send Outlaw to Chicago for Hinrich in a straight-up deal.

That's just an example of what could happen. A report out of Philadelphia said the Blazers are interested in free agent point guard Andre Miller, who made $10 million last season.

Or Portland might make a run at veteran Jason Kidd in free agency, or at Steve Nash, who has a team option of $13.5 million in the last year of his deal with Phoenix. Maybe the Blazers will pursue a free agent forward such as Brandon Bass, Paul Millsap or Hedo Turkoglu.