Damian Lillard is known as one of the most loyal stars in the league, as despite setbacks, he has stayed with the Portland Trail Blazers for his entire career. While Damian Lillard may not have moved teams yet, that fact could change in the future.
NBA insider Chris Haynes has recently pointed to two factors that may affect Damian Lillard’s desire to remain in Portland. The first is the backlash that Lillard has received due to the Trail Blazers hiring Chauncey Billups. The next is the fact that he is “skeptical” about the Portland Trail Blazers’ ability to build a contender around him. Both of those are valid reasons for Lillard to potentially want a change.
The backlash from Portland Trail Blazers’ coaching search and his concerns over whether a championship contender can be built have become major factors that could force Damian Lillard to request out, league sources tell @YahooSports. https://t.co/syN8upvWPx
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) June 27, 2021
The enormous backlash from the Portland Trail Blazers’ process to hire a new coach and his concerns on whether a championship contender can be built have become factors that may push the franchise player — Damian Lillard — out the door, league sources told Yahoo Sports.
Lillard has remained loyal to Portland in large part due to the tremendous fan base. But over the last few days, he’s seen some of those same fans attacking him on social media for a pending coaching hire he played no part in consummating, sources said.
Portland is currently in negotiations to make Los Angeles Clippers assistant coach Chauncey Billups its next head coach.
The coaching search was conducted by Neil Olshey, the team’s president of basketball operations. None of the candidates who were interviewed were from suggestions from Lillard, sources said.
There is no question that if this report by Haynes is accurate, that this is a huge departure from Damian Lillard’s general stance of staying committed to Portland. If Damian Lillard does request a trade, there will certainly be many teams that are interested, and we’ll have to wait and see if he decides to remain in Portland or ask for a trade elsewhere.
