Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard has acknowledged that he reevaluated his future in Portland following a frustrating 2020/21 season and first-round playoff loss. However, after a summer of soul-searching, the six-time All-Star appears more committed than ever to the Blazers, expressing that sentiment again this week after he received cheers from Sixers fans in Philadelphia, as Tim Bontemps of ESPN details.
“I know what it is and I know what it’s about,” Lillard said after the game. “But I’m a Trail Blazer. I appreciate the love. I appreciate the respect that they showed and the desire or whatever but I’m 10 toes in Rip City, and I’ve said that time and time again, and tonight I laughed about it during starting lineups but that was that.”
Lillard has spoken a little over the last month about his recommitment to the Blazers, but he went into more detail on his thought process in a conversation with Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports, revealing that he weighed his decision for two months and met in Los Angeles with Lakers stars LeBron James and Anthony Davis during the offseason.
According to Lillard, James and Davis didn’t push him to become a Laker. Even if Lillard had expressed interest in such a scenario, the odds of Blazers president of basketball operations Neil Olshey trading him to Los Angeles would’ve been virtually non-existent, Haynes notes. Still, LeBron asked him how he felt about his situation in Portland and talked about what it might look like if he were to leave. For his part, Lillard expressed reluctance to join a super-team.
“I was just saying, I don’t know if this is the route I wanted to go,” Lillard told Haynes. “And that was pretty much how the conversation went.
“… I’m sure it would be great to play with LeBron and AD and play in a big market, but as attractive as it sounded and as fun as that might be, I don’t feel in my heart that that’s who I am or where I belong. And one thing I want to emphasize is that this decision (to stick with the Blazers) wasn’t made out of comfort. I’m not afraid to be out of my comfort zone, because I’m going to live here when I’m done playing regardless. I made my decision based on what I actually want to do.”
Haynes’ in-depth look at Lillard’s decision-making process includes a ton of interesting tidbits and is worth reading in full. Here are a few more of the most noteworthy quotes from the Blazers star:
On his decision to remain in Portland:
“I want to win here. I’ve attached myself to the history of this organization and this city. Just in thinking about how long it’s been since they’ve won, I want to be a part of that coming to an end. I want people to say, ‘When Dame came through here, he rode all the way out for us through the good and the bad. He was ready to sink with the ship.’
“… If I did decide to go do something else, there’s also no guarantee that I’m going to win it by moving on. So, my best bet is to stick to my guns and do what I care about in my heart. … You look at some of the dudes around the league that was at the top of their game and they made one move and now they’re on this team, next year on another team and now they’re somewhere completely different. As much as I want to win, I want to do it my way.”
On whether he’s satisfied with the moves the front office has made and the team’s direction going forward:
“The conversations I’ve had with Neil, he didn’t promise me we’re about to get LeBron. They didn’t tell me we’re about to go get a superstar player because I don’t think you need all superstar players to win. We’ve got CJ (McCollum). He’s an All-Star-level player. We’ve got (Jusuf) Nurkic. He’s one of the best centers in the league. It’s the way you piece the team together.
“If you look at Phoenix, they don’t have a bunch of stars. They got people who are really good at what they do and understand their roles. Chris Paul and Devin Booker are All-Stars, but Deandre Ayton is a quality center, Jae Crowder is an experienced, quality stretch-four man that’s tough, Cam Johnson is nice and Mikal Bridges is my favorite small forward in the league. You just look at how that team is put together and they’re in the Finals coming out of the West. That’s what my vision is. … We have the core pieces to do the same thing that Phoenix did. It’s just how you fill that in.”
On what it would be like to eventually win a title with the Blazers:
“If I was to get that championship for Portland, I would cry, bruh. Bruh, on the spot. I would really cry, bro. I want to win a championship here. And because of how strongly I feel about that, I don’t know how rewarding it would feel for me at this point if I won somewhere else. Winning it here would be a lifetime achievement for me.”
Man I hope he wins one in Portland, I’m thankful these younger stars are sticking where they started and more teams are fun to watch, Giannis changed a lot and I think a guy like Ja might have a similar effect down the road, super teams are for the super weak
Sixers beat their full team down 4 starters. He better rethink his situation. They won’t win in the West. Good luck.
I mentioned this over the summer that the Blazers are done. They didn’t add anybody and they lost a key bench player and Carmelo !! And didn’t they trade two for 1 to get Powell from Toronto?
Plus adjusting to a brand new coach who wants to make his mark after having the same game plan for the last eight years and one coach is difficult. With a brand-new rookie coach they should have blown it up but they’re rolling with it. We’ll see how it plays out.
Lillard is saying all the right things but remember Kevin Garnett’s cry after 12 years in Minnesota was that he stayed too long and was loyal too long. LeBron did the right thing and stayed Cleveland 8 years and then moved on. That’s loyal enough to the team that drafted you.
One must wonder what there is for Mr Lillard to laugh about…
I love it that he is loyal, as it should be, never mind pointless things like winning, no one should care that much about it, but…
Taking in to account that he seems to really wanna win, well that ain’t gonna happen in POR, like ever, this team is for the play-in if they make it to the playoffs proper, that will be some achievement, right?
Also, what is with his game I mean 18/4/8 with a shooting line of 35/23/93… I mean Mr Lillard you have been so far outrageously & indefatigably horrible, which ain’t helping when your team is mediocre at best…
That’s why I am wondering what made him laugh so much in the PHI game that he lost as usual!
He’ll be traded by the deadline if the Blazers are still 10th in the West. The Blazers need a full rebuild. The roster clearly isn’t good enough to do anything significant in the West.
And if they do decide to blow it up… they’ll easily get a 1st from contenders for RoCo and Nurkic. They’ll get players and picks for Dame and CJ. They should keep Powell. Keep Nance.
This isn’t news either, the roster hasn’t been good enough for years. Time to go Thunder Mode.
They went to the western conference finals two years ago and lost to GS…not too shabby considering they took down overrated cancer Russ to get to the WCF.
This is like the dad saying he’s staying married for the kid but complains about the marriage 24-7, like we do not care my guy.
Draymond is never going to play on your team, but you can find your way onto his if you really try.
What would be the point of having both Lillard and Curry?
@Marty
you always find a way to make it about GSW. Seems to me he’s not complaining about wanting to be there just trying to stress to mngnt he wants to win there and needs help. At least he’s staying adamant despite the media and others putting pressure on him 24/7 with there redundant questions.
He must be under the delusion that Portland is going to trade Lillard for Wiggins and one of their young guys to match salaries.
Thus giving them another super team with Curry, Dame, Klay, and Dray. Too bad the dynasty has already ended Marty, get over it.
I’d love for the Warriors to get a star but Damian Lillard is not it. There’s only one ball and he’s basically a late game hero. How many of those do you need?
Defense would be a problem unless you stagger the minutes like the Blazers do with Lillard and McCollum. I really like Damian Lillard but I wouldn’t want him on my Warriors. I’d rather have the young guys that it would take to trade for him. Changing my tune from the summer but even then Lillard was like a 5th choice not first.
Plus I hate to say this but Lillard may be on the downside at age 32. There’s a lot of miles on those legs. Sure Curry is also even older at 33 or 34 but he seems fresher for some reason.
Lillard is entrenched in Portland with other business interests.(car dealership and music). He will want to keep his brand strong in the area.
The weak link is Nurkic. Not sure he has the maturity and discipline to get to that championship.
I agree. Nurkic has the talent and skill but can’t put it together with desire and tenacity. He’s a little too smooth for my liking. He’s a little bit too much “cool guy.” Not enough grinder and banger.
The person above said you could get a first-rounder for him.. I’m not sure about that.
Thinking back to the days of Clyde Drexler and Jerome Kersey, it sure would be great to see this team at the top again!
Yes they had the eye of the tiger. Terry Porter and Arvids Sabonis “get it done” guys like that. Fantastic teams.
Even though Clyde Drexler had his flaws he had a “get after it” mentality and left it all out there. Much respect for Clyde Drexler as a player and his desire to give it everything he has, even though his game was more “bad shot and turnover” than work it for a good shot style. If that makes sense LOL.
Too bad the Blazers stink…and he isn’t helping much by throwing up a bunch of bricks from three-point land everyday….
Lillard for ben simmons,thybulle, 2 1st.
It’s nice to see in a league where so many players force, or try to force (ahem Ben Simmons) that Lillard is willing to live or die by his sword in Portland.
Tl;Dr: if the Blazers disappoint again Lillard may have a change of heart. The fact that he went through this process in the summer showed he at least considered leaving, and while he may have found a renewed commitment to the organization under a new HC we’ll see how long that lasts if the performance isn’t up to expectations.
This trade talks f***ed his shot
Sooo… Bron said no and Dame said 10 toes in rip city.
Moving on…
As a 76ers fan, I really wanted to trade Simmons for Dame. However, I have so much respect for Damian Lillard that I would almost feel bad if he left Portland and was not able to win 1 here (although adding him to the current t roster and subtracting Big Baby Ben would do incredible things here. Dame has a sense of loyalty that only about a dozen players have in the NBS today. DAME, Stephen, Embiid, Booker, D.Mitchell, Luka,D. FOX,, M. SMART,,,THATS ALL I HAVE AT THE MOMENT