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Damian Lillard has been with the Portland Trail Blazers for over a decade. But will he take his talents elsewhere? No one really knows.
For the last several years, it’s been apparent that Portland’s not put together a championship-contending team around Dame. That leads to the team getting knocked out in the first or second round of the playoffs with no expectations of going much farther. However, Dame is one of the most clutch and talented players in the league, so like a broken record, the offseasons are filled with rumors that he’ll request a trade.
Empty statements about teams interested in taking him and making a deep playoff run and Lillard being ready to leave Portland fill our Twitter timelines.
However, as the regular season draws forward, Lillard always winds up staying put. Like clockwork, it’s happening again, and with Portland drafting Scoot Henderson at No. 3 overall, it’s never been a better time for the 33-year-old to find a new home.
He’s long said that he’s cut from a different cloth and wants to remain loyal to the organization that drafted him but reports this offseason have been conflicted.
ESPN’s NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski revealed that it’s up to Lillard if he wants to leave, and the Trail Blazers are willing to accommodate him.
“Damian Lillard has a decision to make… if he decides he wants a trade, that he wants out of Portland, well then I think that [Portland] will accommodate him… but, [Portland doesn’t] want to trade him, [teams] were immediately shut down, ‘he’s not available,’” Woj said.
Senior NBA Insider for TNT & Bleacher Report Chris Haynes echoed those sentiments that Dame wants to win now and has no interest in growing with a group of young players around him
“Dame has made it clear that he wants to compete for a championship, and he wants to continue, and he wants a roster that can get him there. He wants that now, he does not want to wait, he does not want to go to a rebuild, doesn’t want to continue to play with younger guys to help them grow and get to that point he wants to win,” Haynes said on his #thisleague UNCUT podcast.
So while we don’t know where Lillard will end up, some fans are tired of the back-and-forth narrative that arises during every offseason.
See the reactions below.
