Damian Lillard

Trail Blazers Notes: Lillard, McCollum, Stotts

June 6th, 2021 at 9:56am CST by Arthur Hill

Damian Lillard will wait to see what the Trail Blazers do during the offseason before making a decision on his future, a person close to the star guard told Jabari Young of CNBC. Lillard has stated repeatedly that he wants to stay in Portland and help the franchise win a title, but that could change if he’s not convinced that the Blazers are moving in that direction. The team’s willingness to pay the luxury tax could figure into the decision, Young adds.

Lillard is under contract for the next three seasons and Portland has no plans to trade him, but he could change the situation by requesting a deal. He is coming off the best playoff series of his career, averaging 34.5 PPG in the six-game loss to the Nuggets. It marked the fourth time in five years that Portland was eliminated in the first round, and Lillard could be pondering a move to a more legitimate title contender.

The Blazers began what could be an offseason of change Friday night when they announced that coach Terry Stotts won’t return next season. Lillard quickly made a statement about his coaching preferences, with Jason Kidd and Chauncey Billups topping the list.

Another factor will be what Portland’s management decides to do with the roster, and especially Lillard’s backcourt partner, CJ McCollum. Young notes that the Cavaliers have been mentioned as a possible destination for McCollum and the Spurs have considered him as well, although they aren’t currently considering an offer.

Young cites a Western Conference executive who believes the Clippers may try to move Paul George if they don’t make a long playoff run, adding that a deal involving McCollum and George is conceivable. The Heat could also be a destination, though they might prefer to target Lillard.

There’s more from Portland:

The Blazers will replace their coach, but general manager Neil Olshey’s job appears to be safe, Young adds. Ownership sees him as a “solid executive” who has done as much as possible within budget limitations to build a competitive team around Lillard.
Several teams around the league, including many in “top markets,” are keeping an eye on Portland to see if Lillard might become available, sources tell Shams Charania and Jason Quick of The Athletic.
Stotts wrote a farewell letter thanking the organization, players and fans for his experiences during the past nine years as head coach.

Knicks Notes: Lillard, Rose, Free Agents, Vildoza

June 5th, 2021 at 8:30pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Knicks should be at the front of the line if the Trail Blazers decide to trade Damian Lillard, contends Mike Vaccaro of The New York Post. Lillard is one of the most popular Portland players ever and has been a fixture in the city since he was drafted in 2012. But he will turn 31 in July and could bring a huge collection of assets in return if the Blazers opt to rebuild.

Lillard is owed more than $127MM over the next three seasons and has a $48.8MM player option for 2024/25. He would provide an instant solution to New York’s long-running point guard problem and would bring some star power to the franchise. He’s still as explosive as ever as a scorer, averaging 28.8 points per game this season and shooting 39.1% from three-point range.

The Knicks have the assets to make a deal work, including five first-round picks over the next three years, Vaccaro adds. They also have young talent to offer, such as rookies Obi Toppin and Immanuel Quickley, second-year guard RJ Barrett and third-year center Mitchell Robinson.

There’s more from New York:

If Lillard isn’t available, the Knicks will pursue other options to upgrade their backcourt this summer, and Ian Begley of SNY.TV hears that Derrick Rose‘s performance after being acquired from the Pistons will affect their strategy. If they can re-sign Rose, the Knicks will be less likely to spend big on another veteran point guard and may turn to restricted free agents such as Devonte’ Graham, Lonzo Ball or Kendrick Nunn. New York talked to the Pelicans about a possible Ball trade before the March deadline, but there’s not a consensus on him among the front office, according to Begley.
With their playoff run over, Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau met with newly signed guard Luca Vildoza on Thursday and watched him in a workout, writes Marc Berman of The New York Post. Former Knicks guard and current Timberwolves assistant coach Pablo Prigioni believes his fellow Argentinian has a bright NBA future. “(Vildoza is) really, really good,’’ Prigioni said. “I really like him. Very talented, got a great shot and knows how to pass. I’m really excited to see Luca next season with the Knicks. Tom’s going to like him.’’
Thibodeau held a long meeting with his players on Thursday and decided to delay the traditional player evaluation conferences for about two weeks, Berman adds in a separate story. A source said Berman wants his players to unwind from the stress that COVID-19 brought to the season.

Lillard Favors Kidd For Blazers’ Job, Also Likes Billups

June 5th, 2021 at 8:26am CST by Dana Gauruder

Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard has already gone on the record regarding Terry Stotts’ potential replacement, and he favors two other former All-Star point guards.

Lillard told Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports that he’d like to see Lakers assistant Jason Kidd get the job. Portland parted ways with Stotts, its nine-year head coach, on Friday night after the Blazers’ latest early playoff exit.

“Jason Kidd is the guy I want,” Lillard said.

Haynes reported shortly after the news broke of Stotts’ departure that Lillard would have significant input in the hiring process. Stotts has been his only head coach since he entered the league.

According to Haynes, Lillard and Kidd “have a great relationship” and Lillard has great respect for Kidd’s basketball acumen and knowledge, believing he could get the team to the next level.

In a story written by The Athletic’s Jason Quick and Shams Charania, Lillard added another name to the mix — Clippers assistant Chauncey Billups.

“I like J. Kidd and Chauncey,” Lillard said.

The Athletic story added that Dame prefers Kidd, mainly due to his head coaching experience, but that Portland’s front office is intrigued by Billups. It’s believed that the job will go to one or the other.

Kidd’s record as a head coach — one season with the Nets and three-plus seasons with the Bucks — is 183-190. He was fired by Milwaukee midway through the 2017/18 campaign. He’s been one of the Lakers’ top assistants under Frank Vogel the last two seasons.

Billups, the 2004 Finals MVP, joined Ty Lue’s staff after a stint with ESPN.

Billups, ABC broadcaster and former Rockets/Knicks head coach Jeff Van Gundy, former head coach and current Nets assistant Mike D’Antoni, and University of Michigan head coach and former Heat assistant Juwan Howard were named as potential candidates by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

The Blazers didn’t want to make a hasty decision on Stotts’ status but the 63-year-old coach and his agent wanted a quick resolution so that they could explore other opportunities, according to The Athletic. Stotts is believed to be a candidate for the Pacers job if they move on from Nate Bjorkgren.

Lillard heaped praise on Stotts and wished things had turned out differently.

“I feel down about it, because I’m not much a fan of change,” Lillard said. “And every memory of mine in this uniform includes him.”

However, there were increasing concerns about Stotts’ ability to connect with his players and make in-game adjustments.

Terry Stotts Won’t Return As Trail Blazers Coach

June 4th, 2021 at 10:01pm CST by Dana Gauruder

10:01pm: The team has confirmed in a press release that Stotts will not return.

“I have the utmost respect for Terry and what he has accomplished these past nine seasons,” president of basketball operations Neil Olshey said in a statement. “This was a difficult decision on both a personal and professional level but it’s in the best interest of the franchise to move in another direction. Terry will always hold a special place in the Trail Blazer family and the Portland community. We relied on the integrity, professionalism and consistency he brought to the job every day and we wish he and Jan nothing but the best.”

9:40pm: The Trail Blazers and longtime head coach Terry Stotts have mutually agreed to part ways, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets.

Stotts, 63, has been the team’s head coach since the 2012/13 season. Portland has qualified for the playoffs in eight consecutive seasons but only made the conference finals in 2018/19, when they were swept by the Warriors. The Blazers have been eliminated in the first round in two consecutive years, and four of the last five.

Clippers assistant Chauncey Billups, ABC broadcaster and former Rockets/Knicks head coach Jeff Van Gundy, former head coach and current Nets assistant Mike D’Antoni, and University of Michigan head coach and former Heat assistant Juwan Howard are expected to receive consideration for the job, Wojnarowski reports in a separate tweet.

The Blazers’ quick exit in this year’s playoffs was unexpected. They were facing a depleted Nuggets team, missing starting guards Jamal Murray and Will Barton, while all of their own starters were healthy. Despite some stellar performances from Damian Lillard, Portland was eliminated in six games.

Lillard has played under Stotts throughout his career. The All-Star point guard will have a major say on Stotts’ replacement, Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports tweets.

In his nine seasons with Portland, Stotts accumulated a regular-season record of 402-318 (.558). However, the Blazers went 22-40 (.355) in those postseason appearances. Stotts had one more guaranteed year on his contract, with a team option for 2022/23.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Blazers Rumors: Dame, Stotts, Nurkic, Powell, Jones

June 4th, 2021 at 10:55am CST by Luke Adams

In the wake of Thursday’s loss to Denver, which eliminated the Trail Blazers from the postseason, Portland players appeared to sense that major changes could be coming this offseason, writes Jason Quick of The Athletic. Star point guard Damian Lillard suggested that the team would have to go “back to the drawing board” following its first-round exit.

“We didn’t win a championship, so obviously where we are now isn’t good enough,” Lillard said, noting that the Blazers couldn’t beat a Nuggets team that was missing starters Jamal Murray and Will Barton. “I don’t know what a shakeup looks like, or what changes will be made or could be made, but obviously as it is wasn’t good enough.”

As Quick writes, the future of head coach Terry Stotts will be one of the first issues the organization has to address. Stotts has one more guaranteed year on his contract, with a team option for 2022/23. However, multiple reports have indicated that Stotts is on the hot seat, and Portland’s showing in the playoffs likely didn’t help his cause.

According to Quick, the Blazers will go through exit interviews with players on Friday before making a call on Stotts, and may wait until next week to make their final decision. For his part, the Blazers’ head coach, who has led the team to eight straight playoff appearances, sounded prepared for any outcome.

“My job security? I’m under contract … I’m sure just like at the end of every year, we are all evaluated,” Stotts said. “The players, coaches, management, we are all evaluated. We will see what happens. At the end of the season, when you lose, everyone is evaluated. When we lost to New Orleans (in 2018), got swept by New Orleans, we were all evaluated. So we will see what happens.”

Here’s more on the Blazers:

While he has long been committed to Portland, Lillard figures to draw plenty of leaguewide interest from teams curious to see if he’s becoming any more open to a change of scenery, Marc Berman of The New York Post writes. So far, there’s no indication that Lillard’s commitment to the franchise is wavering.
Jusuf Nurkic didn’t sound certain about his future in Portland after Thursday’s loss. The veteran center’s $12MM salary for 2021/22 is only partially guaranteed for $4MM, but a source tells Quick the Blazers plan to guarantee the remainder. Still, Nurkic said he would’ve liked to play a bigger role, and was cryptic when asked if he wanted to return. “In the right situation, yes,” Nurkic replied, per ESPN’s Royce Young. Asked what the right situation was, Nurkic said, “We’ll see. I don’t know yet. Because this is not it.”
The Blazers face a tricky decision on Norman Powell, who could command up to $20MM per year in free agency, Quick writes for The Athletic. Portland has interest in re-signing Powell, but it may not be practical to invest heavily in another guard if Lillard and CJ McCollum are still on the roster, since the star duo will earn $70MM+ in 2021/22 (and even more than that in future seasons).
Powell’s future and that of Derrick Jones will likely be tied – at least in part – to whether or not Stotts returns, since his usage of both players was questionable, Quick says. Jones may not be able to match his $9.7MM player option salary on the open market, but it’s unlikely that he’d want to return to play for a coach that didn’t seem to value him, Quick observes.

Damian Lillard Wins Teammate Of The Year Award

June 3rd, 2021 at 2:49pm CST by Eli Cohen

Trail Blazers point guard Damian Lillard has been named the winner of the 2020/2021 Twyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year Award, the league announced today.

A panel of league executives selected 12 candidates, six from each conference, and current NBA players selected the winner from the list of 12 choices. The award is given to the player “deemed the best teammate based on selfless play, on- and off-court leadership as a mentor and role model to other NBA players, and commitment and dedication to team.”

More than 300 players voted this year, with Lillard receiving 40 first-place votes. Other nominees included Suns guard Chris Paul, Nets forward Joe Harris, 76ers forward Tobias Harris, Raptors guard Kyle Lowry, and Heat forward Udonis Haslem.

Paul, the runner-up, actually received more first-place votes (47), but Lillard’s 1,012 total points narrowly edged CP3’s 1,001.

Lillard averaged 28.8 points and 7.5 assists this season while leading the Blazers to a six seed in the Western Conference. He was also named to his sixth All Star game. Lillard received his third NBA Cares Community Assist Award presented by Kaiser Permanente in April for his work empowering the youth of Portland, and has previously won the 2018/19 J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award for outstanding service and dedication to his community.

The Trail Blazers are currently down 3-2 in their first round playoff series against the Nuggets, in which Lillard is averaging a playoff career high 35.6 points a night to go with 9.6 assists. They’ll look to extend their season tonight.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

LaMarcus Aldridge Discusses Health Scare, Decision To Retire

June 1st, 2021 at 10:20am CST by Luke Adams

In a wide-ranging interview with Shams Charania of The Athletic, LaMarcus Aldridge looked back on his stints with the Trail Blazers, Spurs, and Nets, and went into detail on why he abruptly decided to retire as a player this spring following a heart-related health scare.

Aldridge spoke about wishing he had made more of an effort to build a relationship with Damian Lillard when both players were in Portland, and said that joining the Spurs was like being part of a “family.” However, his most eye-opening comments were about the last NBA game he played, on April 10 vs. the Lakers.

Aldridge, who has dealt with Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome throughout his career, told Charania that he felt his heart race in an irregular manner on the morning of April 10 and believed it would return to normal once he got out on the court.

“I had a weird game against the Lakers, my heart was just beating weird and out of rhythm. I had irregular rhythm the whole game, and I hadn’t experienced that before,” Aldridge said. “Normally when I get on the court, my case study is that I would go into regular rhythm as I got my heart rate up. It had never been out of rhythm in a game and then it was out of rhythm for the Lakers game and I was just off and couldn’t get no energy. I couldn’t figure out what was going on.

“… It was still off after the game, but at like two, three in the morning, it got really, really crazy. My heart was beating really crazy, and that’s when it got really bad for me. From two to five in the morning, I was just trying to evoke some breathing and then around 5:30 or so, I texted the team doctor and I went to the hospital. It was probably the scariest night ever.”

Here are a few more highlights from Aldridge’s conversation with Charania, which is worth checking out in full if you’re an Athletic subscriber:

On making the decision to call it a career following that April 10 health scare:

“It was very tough. I definitely wasn’t ready to hang it up and I still felt like I had more to give to a team and I feel I had a lot to give to the Nets. … Basically, that night being so freaked out — and knowing I have kids, my mom, a lot of people depending on me and a lot of people that I want to see going forward — I just felt like I was blessed by God to play 15 years with this condition, and I didn’t want to push it anymore.”

On informing his teammates of his decision to retire:

“It was tough, man. I talked to Kevin (Durant) right away, I wanted to give him the respect because when I hit the waiver market when I got my buyout, he was the first guy to hit me. So I felt like I wanted to hit him first, because he was owed that. And I think he was more in shock in the beginning because he didn’t really believe or understand what I was saying. And then we talked again. I felt like those guys were really excited to have me. So I didn’t get emotional on the phone, but afterwards I was a little emotional.”

On why he joined the Nets after being bought out by the Spurs:

“I didn’t choose Brooklyn because I was trying to get there and make a super team. I chose them because if you look at what they need, what they needed and what they were trying to do, I fit exactly what they wanted. The only thing they wanted to get better was having a big that could score, and that’s what I do. And they wanted a shooter at the end of the games, but also a big that could guard bigger players. That’s who I am.

“… I know everyone’s gonna say it’s a super team, but I think it’s funny how I was sitting at home in San Antonio because the Spurs were younger, which I totally get. And Blake (Griffin) wasn’t playing for Detroit, because they wanted to go younger. So it was like I was washed up, he was washed up. But then when we get on the same team, the (discussion was) was they were cheating. … It was just funny to me to watch this whole narrative play out.”

On adjusting to no longer playing basketball and not getting a chance to compete for his first title:

“I’ve been depressed, and I’m trying to figure out how to navigate through not competing on the floor, learning not to be depressed. I still love basketball. I still feel like I have a lot to give. But even now, I’m still trying to find myself. When you go from doing something you love for so long and you lose it overnight, it’s a shock.”

Trail Blazers Notes: McCollum, Stotts, Lillard, Nurkic

May 22nd, 2021 at 8:46pm CST by Arthur Hill

Trail Blazers players won’t be thinking about saving coach Terry Stotts‘ job when they open their playoff series with the Nuggets tonight, CJ McCollum tells Jason Quick of The Athletic. Stotts is rumored to be among a handful of coaches who are in jeopardy if they suffer an early exit in the postseason. He has one year left on his current contract with a salary of more than $6MM.

McCollum made it clear that the players support Stotts, but there are other motivating factors.

“You have no control over those things,” he said. “I like Terry. Terry has been great for me, my career, my development, he’s given me a chance. I will forever be grateful for everything he has done for me. But your job as a player is to play. And his job as a coach is to coach. Like, you can’t worry about what could happen. That’s every year. Every year, I could be traded. Every year, a coach could lose his job. There is enough pressure to perform on its own.

“… I don’t need any extra motivation to help Terry keep his job. I’m gonna go hoop and do what I do no matter what. And I think that’s Terry’s mentality. If something happens, Terry is OK. He’s gonna be all right, and he’s probably going to get another head coaching job.”

There’s more Trail Blazers news to pass along:

Damian Lillard discusses how the COVID-19 pandemic affected him and players in general in an in-depth interview with Sam Amick of The Athletic. He also addresses a recent column by Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports calling for Portland to add more top-level talent during Lillard’s prime years. “People love to hear, ‘Oh, this guy might want out of here or out of there.’ I’ve constantly mentioned what my commitment to Portland is,” Lillard said. “I don’t think I need to keep going in on that. But over the course of a season, everybody gets frustrated, you know? And I’m not a person who fakes it for nobody. Not the media. Not my teammates. Not the fans. Not for nobody.”
The 2017 trade that sent Jusuf Nurkic from Denver to Portland helped the Nuggets and Blazers both improve, writes Kyle Fredrickson of The Denver Post. Portland needed an upgrade at center, and Nurkic had just lost his starting job to Nikola Jokic.
Zach Collins is the only player listed on the Trail Blazers’ injury report as the playoffs begin. Collins hasn’t played all season after undergoing surgery to fix a stress fracture in his ankle, but a recent story by Quick said the big man hasn’t given up hope of returning if Portland makes a long playoff run.

Northwest Notes: Lillard, Deck, Mitchell, SGA

May 19th, 2021 at 7:50pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Trail Blazers All-Star point guard Damian Lillard still hopes to eventually lead the team that drafted him to a title, writes Jason Quick of The Athletic. In an interesting bit of trivia, Quick says that Lillard has gone above and beyond in researching what it takes to do this. He has spoken with championship-winning players (including his new teammate Norman Powell, who won with the Raptors in 2019) and coaches with the goal of integrating their wisdom into his title quest.

“I want that more than anything,” Lillard said of winning a title for the Trail Blazers. “Not just to say I won a championship. But I want to do it in this city. I want to have a parade on Broadway and ride past El Gaucho (steakhouse). That’s what I think of. Every time the playoffs [are] starting, I’m going into it like, ‘Is this going to be the year that we shock the world or that we come up big?’

“I mean, I see every year when we get to this point as pivotal,” Lillard told Quick. “Because at every point, it’s an evaluation: Where do we go from here? Like, can we get the job done as we are? And if not, where do we go from here? What is the change that needs to be made? And I don’t know where that change comes from, you know, maybe we … I don’t know if it’s moving players, I don’t know if it’s a coaching change … whatever it is that happens in the NBA, the changes that are made when you look at the postseason and what you consider success and failure, and things like that, and what changes you have to make to improve or give yourself a better chance.”

There’s more out of the Northwest Division:

Recently-added Thunder rookie power forward Gabriel Deck hopes to represent Team Argentina in this summer’s rescheduled Olympics, but will remain in Oklahoma City for the next few weeks, tweets Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman.
The top-seeded Jazz will face the Western Conference’s yet-to-be-determined eighth seed when they begin their postseason this weekend, but the health of All-Star shooting guard Donovan Mitchell remains in question, writes Eric Walden of the Salt Lake Tribune. Mitchell has been unable to play through a full team practice since spraining his ankle in a 119-111 defeat of the Pacers on April 16. “Whenever he’s healthy, we’ll have him back,” Mitchell’s teammate Joe Ingles said, delivering an expert non-answer.
As Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander continues to recover from a foot injury, he is holding out hope that he will be healthy enough to suit up for the Canadian national team in this summer’s Olympic qualifiers, tweets Joe Mussatto of the Oklahoman.

Lillard Addresses Haynes’ Column: “That’s His Thoughts”

May 1st, 2021 at 5:04pm CST by Luke Adams

Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports argued in an opinion column on Friday that the Trail Blazers‘ front office ought to be taking a more aggressive approach in trying to acquire a second star to pair with Damian Lillard, taking advantage of the perennial All-Star’s prime years before the team’s window of contention closes.

Asked on Friday night about that piece, Lillard acknowledged that some things Haynes wrote were true, including the fact that this has been his most frustrating season, in large part due to a series of nagging injuries. However, he made it clear that it doesn’t mean he shares all the views conveyed in the column (video link via Casey Holdahl).

“I took it for what it was,” Lillard said. “That’s his thoughts.”

As I noted yesterday, Haynes and Lillard have a long-standing relationship, which added an extra level of intrigue to the story. It was fair to wonder – given the connection between the two – if Haynes’ comments questioning Portland’s moves and suggesting that Lillard’s loyalty wasn’t being rewarded were things the Blazers’ star was feeling. But Lillard wanted to shut down that line of thinking.

“I was kind of — what word should I use — not irritated with him because he’s a writer, that’s what he does, so I can’t expect him to not do his job,” Lillard said. “But I know because of our relationship that people would assume that I was tied to the story. So I think that was the only thing that bothered me about it.”

While Lillard attempted to distance himself from the story, the fact that he didn’t denounce it in stronger terms may fuel speculation about his future in Portland. But he’s under contract through at least 2024 and has long conveyed a desire to finish his career with the franchise, so he’s almost certainly not going anywhere anytime soon.

Still, the Blazers’ front office will likely feel a little added pressure to make organizational changes this offseason, perhaps to both the roster and the coaching staff, especially if the team experiences an early playoff exit.

Whether or not Lillard actively pushes for changes to the roster, it’s a safe bet that team president of basketball operations Neil Olshey will get his star guard’s two cents before doing anything drastic.

“I lean on the fact that me and Neil, if we have a conversation, I know that I can go into his office and tell him whatever I think,” Lillard told reporters on Friday. “And we’ve had those conversations. Same with (head coach) Terry (Stotts).”

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