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David Aldridge of NBA.com has an interview with Portland Trail Blazers All-Star forward LaMarcus Aldridge, who discusses the state of his team and the approach heading into next offseason.
Me: What do you think of the plan that Neil [Olshey] has? How has he sold it to you?
LA: Well, so far, he's doing well. [Laughs]. He brought in Dame, we're above .500. It's not really that down year I thought it would be. He said this year, let's get guys better, let's get Damian acclimated, let's get Nic going, I can get better. And this summer, let's sign somebody big. I thought his plan sounded good, and I think so far, it's paying off.
Me: You're in the prime of your career. Dirk [Nowitzki] is going through rebuilding at the end of his career, and Dallas is struggling. How skeptical were you about doing that here?
LA: I was scared. I'm not gonna lie. Because we did have a rocky start. But everybody's been good about it, working hard, trying to get better, trying to take advantage of everything we have here -- resources, watching film, getting in the gym with Dame and Nic and Wes and myself. I think everybody's doing their part, and I think J.J. Hickson has been big for us this year. I can't leave him out. He's been massive on the boards, a guy every night that I think has been big for us, too.
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Me: Can you sustain playing smaller all season?
LA: I think so. I think we can, I think guys have to be versatile and do different things. I think so far that we've shown we can play with the big teams playing small. I think they have to play small with us.
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Me: [Adding] Somebody large [next summer] would be helpful, right?
LA: Yeah. You know, I love J.J. He's good for us. But somebody seven foot, 7-foot-1, a lot taller than me, that would be great.
-- Ben Golliver | benjamin.golliver@gmail.com | Twitter