Damian Lillard has expressed his loyalty to Portland multiple times over the past few months, but his slow start to the season hasn’t exactly helped to slow down the rumors.
Amid the worst stretch of his career, many are questioning if Dame is really all there for his team and if he’s really happy in his current situation.
On “Inside The NBA,” the TNT crew was asking the same question, and Charles Barkley theorized that Dame’s struggles are a result of him knowing his team is “going nowhere.”
“I been there before, in my last two years in Philly. It’s hard to play basketball when you’re not all-in. Like, I knew we sucked. I knew I was gonna get great individual accolades, I’m gonna make the All-Star team, but we got zero chance of winning.”
According to Chuck, the only thing Portland can do is to make a big trade and surround Lillard with new pieces.
“We’ve seen this movie a lot lately. I think like the last five years. He’s got to leave or they’ve got to bring him in some help. It’s either A or B.”
https://twitter.com/NBAonTNT/status/1458284989032792064
Besides a few trips to the Conference Finals, the Blazers haven’t exactly found much success in the West, and that’s with years of attempts with the Dame/McCollum/Nurkic core.
Still, Lillard seems intent on bringing a title to Portland.
“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.”
The Blazers, who are hovering around .500, remain a significant underdog in the race for the title. Unless they trade for a big-time star, that status is unlikely to change.
Lillard has an uphill battle to climb, and it’s no wonder why folks are questioning his loyalties.
