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LaMarcus Aldridge signals after making a shot against Cleveland, one of three three-pointers he made during the 2014-15 regular season.

(Bruce Ely/The Oregonian)

On Tuesday, after the Trail Blazers' opening practice for the 2014-15 season, coach Terry Stotts was chatting with reporters when I asked him about his star player, LaMarcus Aldridge.

Might we see more three-point attempts out of Aldridge this season? I asked.

Stotts did something that those of us who cover the team have seen at times during his first two seasons. I'm not sure if he learned this from his old boss in Dallas, Mark Cuban, but Stotts likes to quiz reporters about their questions, like Cuban quizzing an entrepreneur on "Shark Tank."

So there was Stotts on Tuesday asking: How many threes did Aldridge attempt last season.

Fifteen, I answered.

"I'll say he'll take more than 15," Stotts said.

But will he? Asked about the possibility of taking more shots behind the arc this season, Aldridge -- who made three All-Star Games with no three-point game to speak of -- didn't give a firm yes, but admitted he did prepare for the possibility.

"This summer, I worked on it a lot more, so we'll see this season," he said, later adding, "If it's there, I'll take it. I'm not going to force it at all."

It's an interesting topic for Aldridge, who, you'll remember, came into the NBA as a thin, athletic player. At times, he seemed sensitive to criticism about not being a tough enough inside player, and taking more three-pointers instead of posting up might've added criticism about him being "soft" earlier in his career.

By now, though, that sort of criticism is almost laughable, especially after he averaged 11.1 rebounds to go with his 23.3 points, the first time in his career he averaged a double-double. He told me at the All-Star Game that the feat was meaningful for him.

"It means a lot, because everybody's doubted me, that I could do it, for so many years," he said in New Orleans. "To actually do it, to prove to every critic that said that I could never do it, or that I wouldn't do it, wrong, it means a lot."

Aldridge, remember, carried 235 pounds on his 6-foot-11 frame when he entered the league as the No. 2 draft pick in 2006. After years of hard work in the weight room, what does he weigh now? It can be hard to tell if you try to look it up. Our website lists him at 250. If you click on his image on the team website's roster, he's listed as 240, while the team's new media guide has him at 260.

On Tuesday, Aldridge said he is at 270 pounds, about two pounds more than he weighed last season, and about as soft as a boulder. If he wants to shoot threes to help his team, who could possibly begrudge him?

Things have changed in the NBA, too. Few teams run an offense that features a lot of post-up play, which can lead to a lot of standing around that is not conducive to the type of offensive flow that Stotts and other coaches favor these days. And several top power forwards – notably Kevin Love and Chris Bosh – shoot plenty of three-pointers to go with their inside games.

Stotts is not the kind of crusty, old-school coach who would grouse about his big man taking a few threes. "Nah, he doesn't mind, actually," Aldridge said. "I just don't do it."

Stotts, in fact, is a big proponent of the "stretch four" concept, having used such small forwards as Luke Babbitt and Dorell Wright in that role. Aldridge, who is one of the league's best jump shooters at power forward, could widen is repertoire and open up driving lanes for teammates if he were to make one or two threes a game.

"When you have a big man that can shoot threes, it changes the game," Stotts said.

The Blazers don't have a pressing need for Aldridge to make threes, however. Two of the other starters, Damian Lillard and Wesley Matthews, both made more than 200 threes last season, and another, Nicolas Batum, hit 145.

Stotts – who in Dallas coached the ultimate stretch four in Dirk Nowitzki -- says he hasn't nudged Aldridge toward taking more threes.

"I want him to be comfortable with it, so that's why the first two years, I haven't really pushed him in that direction," Stotts said. "It's got to be something that he's comfortable doing. If he works at it, I think he's a good enough shooter that he could expand that range, but it has to come at his pace."

Still, it's worth noting that in the Blazers' Game 1 playoff win at Houston, when Aldridge scored a career-high 46 points, with most of the baskets scored inside, he also made both his three-point attempts.

Aldridge, who is 24 for 116 on threes in his eight NBA seasons (with many attempts taken to beat the shot clock or quarter buzzer), has said that he envisions becoming more of a three-point shooter as he gets older.

"I was teasing him that the two threes he hit against Houston might be something that we need to spur that along," Stotts said.

-- Mike Tokito | @mtokito