Damian Lillard CLARIFIES future plans as trade rumors continue to swirl
Damian Lillard has played for the Blazers throughout his NBA career.
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Damian Lillard (Photo by Twitter/NBA Central)
For the past few seasons, Damian Lillard has remained one of the most talked about guards. He is immensely talented and is a massive threat to the opponent’s defense. However, the sharpshooter from Portland has never come close to winning a championship. Lillard has constantly been the subject of trade rumors as the Portland Trail Blazers fall short of a championship campaign consistently year after year.
After the 2022-23 NBA season, Damian Lillard was very vocal about his disappointment in not impacting his team’s season. He even expressed his desire and hunger to win and change the way the Blazers went about their business. This was new for many fans as Lillard has defended the team on several occasions before. However, he recently revealed his intentions for the future. Chris Haynes, an NBA Insider, told the media via his podcast.
“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.” Chris Haynes said.
Haynes reiterates the fact that Damian Lillard is hesitant to leave and have a change in his setup. Moreover, he mentioned that he is not really keen on going elsewhere and starting over from scratch.
Related: Trail Blazers send HUGE MESSAGE to Damian Lillard as star flirts with leaving franchise
Could Damian Lillard consider leaving Portland?
Damian Lillard has been the face of loyalty to a franchise in the NBA. The Portland Trail Blazers drafted Lillard as the sixth overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft. Despite all kinds of ups and downs, he has remained with the same team for the 11 years he has played in the NBA. However, after their disastrous 2022-23 NBA season, Lillard showed signs of his patience wearing out.
In the past, Lillard has always expressed his will to remain in Portland and bring a championship to the city. He has always been a team man and has put his own desire aside for what’s best for the city. He even called being traded ‘a weak move’ in times like these, saying that the team needs to restructure and bounce back. However, in recent times, Lillard has grown to show his unwillingness to wait.
It is pretty evident that the guard means his words when he says he wants fast, significant changes in the way the Trail Blazers’ management is going about their business. Losing Damian Lillard would be the last thing they would need as a franchise. After all, it all comes down to how the side performs in the 2023-24 NBA season. For Lillard, hopefully, this time, they’ll be light at the end of the tunnel.
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Ritvik Malhotra
(1085 Articles Published)