Aldridge still wants a center of attention

With the Indiana Pacers in town tonight, it’s only natural to daydream about 7-foot-2 center Roy Hibbert taking the tipoffs on the pinwheel for every home game. Hibbert, as you may remember, came tantalizingly close to becoming a Blazer this summer after his first All-Star year.

When the Blazers offered Hibbert a max deal, he and power forward LaMarcus Aldridge talked on the phone as both were excited about the future in Portland.

“Just talked about being two big guys out there, new era of the twin towers,” Aldridge recalled on Wednesday morning. “And that was shuttered kind of quick. So that’s gone now.”

Aldridge talks about the Hibbert deal only when approached with the topic, so he’s not living in the past. However, he has made it clear, whenever asked, how much he would want to play alongside a “7-foot-1” or dominant center.

Aldridge is old school in the sense that he believes playing big equates to winning championships even as the league shifts away from the true center (Miami, the best example).

“That’s rare, though. They can win because they have LeBron who can play one, two, three and four, so that’s why they won it. I think he played more four than Bosh,” Aldridge said, when I brought up the Heat’s 2012 title. “I just want that luxury of playing with a dominant center (so) that we can play together. I never had that, so I think that would be good for me and good for that person.”

“It’s definitely trendy to have more small ball but if you think back to the old days, having a center, that meant rings. Shaq, David Robinson and Tim (Duncan) together. Bill Russell. That’s just what I always thought. Winning it all meant – (even) OKC has (Kendrick) Perkins, he’s a true center. Dallas had Tyson Chandler and he’s a true center. So I think most times you need that center piece.”