LaMarcus Aldridge sat down with Michael Pina for a sit down interview over All-Star weekend.

Aldridge was asked if he's surprised to be at All-Star weekend.

“I wouldn’t say I had doubt,” Aldridge said. “I knew I’d have to have some things fall into place and I’d have to refine myself and kind of work with [Gregg Popovich] and the organization on how I could be the player I was in this system.

“I knew some work had to be done. I wouldn’t say I doubted it, but I knew a lot of things had to be worked on and I took my responsibility and I went home and got healthy and worked hard and made sure I came back with the right mentality. Pop and the organization then did their thing to try and let me be myself. So I wouldn’t say I doubted it, but I knew a lot of things had to be done. I knew it was going to be tough.”

Aldridge has widespread received criticism during his tenure with the Spurs and was also a controversial figure while with the Blazers.

“I feel like everything with me gets blown out of proportion,” Aldridge said. “I think it’s because I’m so quiet about things that people just run with anything they hear.”

Aldridge has a quiet personality for a multi-time All-Star, which has perhaps contributed to misconceptions over him.

“I’m probably one of the most misunderstood people in the league,” Aldridge said. “I have no bad intentions, but I carry myself in a very protective way. I like my little shell. I like my little circle of three or four people that I’m close to. I think that comes off as bad to people that don’t really know my personality. I don’t like new environments. I don’t like being around a lot of new people. It makes me uncomfortable.”