As a lock for one of the six All-NBA guard spots this spring, Damian Lillard will become eligible for a super-max extension with the Trail Blazers this summer. And according to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, unlike Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, and Anthony Davis, Lillard has “sent signals” that he’ll be interested in signing a super-max deal to stick with his current team.
As Windhorst observes, the ownership situation in Portland is a little unstable following the death of longtime owner Paul Allen, and Lillard met with Allen last season before his passing to discuss the direction of the franchise, which raised some eyebrows. However, Portland’s star point guard doesn’t have any concerns about ownership and he’s “very comfortable with his commitment” to the franchise, Windhorst writes.
Lillard will still have two years and $61MM+ left on his current contract after this season, so gaining super-max eligibility would allow him to tack on four new years to that deal. Assuming the Blazers put the offer on the table, the extension would start at 35% of the cap in 2021/22. The exact figures aren’t yet known, since they’ll depend on where the cap ends up that year, but Windhorst estimates a four-year super-max would be worth approximately $194MM.
Because Lillard will have earned All-NBA honors in two consecutive years, he’d also remain eligible for a super-max extension in 2020 if he were to pass on one this year. While doing so would put him in line for an even larger payday, Windhorst suggests that there’s no indication the 28-year-old wants to put it off.
With Lillard apparently on board, an offseason extension seems likely, but Portland will still have to actually put the offer on the table. The Blazers remain fully committed to their franchise player, so I’d be surprised if they don’t make that super-max offer, but it’s worth noting that the four-year extension would start in Lillard’s age-31 season, which is still two years away.
Locking up a player a couple years in advance for his early-30s seasons is a risky play — just ask the Wizards, whose super-max for John Wall was completed in 2017 and won’t actually go into effect until this July. Still, the Blazers are a good bet to take that risk.
Is Lillard even worth a supermax? He seems more like a volume shooter than anything else.
The super-max was designed to allow small market teams to keep their best players, but unless those players are superstars, it usually ends up hurting the team (e.g., John Wall’s contract). It’s basically a lose-lose situation for the Blazers; Lillard eventually leaves in free agency or they offer him the super-max and they have little cap flexibility for years to come.
Yeah it is pretty awful. Not sure what owners were thinking.
Have you even seen the Blazers play or are you just talking to talk? Dame has been averaging 26-6-4 for the past 5 years (23-6-4) for his career. He is one of, if not the best, team leader in the NBA. He’s an underrated passer and a good rebounder for his position. His defense has improved every year and he’s no longer a liability in 1 on 1 situations. Even has good post defense when he’s mismatched and a bigger player has him in the post. He’s raised his level of play this year as the Blazers have played to a top 4 seed in a loaded West. His ability to control games this season is very evident in how much more consistent the team has been. Since McCollum has been out he’s averaging 30 ppg and 10 apg, which he can do in every game. People who haven’t been watching the Blazers the past few years didn’t sit through the agony of Dame passing up plenty of shots per game to build confidence in his teammates and try to get them scoring. Dame could have averaged 30 ppg easily the past 4 years and instead focused on the team’s growth. Every single player got significantly better since last year. 4 years, $194 tacked onto the END of these next two years in which he’s UNDERPAID, looks like a bargain when you consider Chris Paul is under contract for 4/$159 million. Lillard is a superstar player and is one player where you don’t ever have to worry that they won’t go out and earn every penny they’re being paid. He will always give back to the community and is an outstanding person to have as the face of your franchise. Dame deserves the super-max.
earn every penny? hahahahahaha
Couldn’t agree any more dude, Dame totally rocks, one of the greatest! Totally deserves a super-max!
I meant agree with yoyo137!
If there is a better leader, a better guy, a grittier player in the NBA I’ll be darned if I can name him. I started attending NBA games in the 1957-58 season when I was 8 years old. And in all that time … hmm … better leader … give me a minute. You know how us folks pushing 70 are. Yeah, a little slow. Better leader in 62 seasons of hoops? I’ll get back to you later. It’s time for my prune juice .
Under the category of “Dumbest Things Ever Requested in a CBA Negotiation”, the “Super Max” has to rank near the top. Most of the top 10 were requested by the NBA owners in post-2010 NBA CBA negotiations. The Super Max, to date, hasn’t kept a single player in a place he wouldn’t be otherwise. To the contrary; it’s caused departures that would never have happened otherwise. In that regard, it’s record tracks that of it’s post-2010 sister rules, all of which rest on a theory reverse engineered from parts of prior workable rules, without regard to the fact that those rules never rested on that theory or even supported it overall.