Milwaukee Bucks guard Damian Lillard faced a lot of heat this season after requesting a trade out of Portland. But in the aftermath of the whole ordeal, Lillard has since made peace with the outcome and, as he said on Sirius XM NBA Radio, he feels no convictions about his legacy or anything that happened over the past three months.
“Everybody had this time. Everybody has their time when they go up against criticism or slander because you did something negative or you did something that people don’t agree with,” said Dame. “Nobody’s gonna be loved all the time, and I accept that because I am strong in who I am. You can’t pretend for 11 years. It is what it is and I didn’t feel like I needed to defend myself.”
Lillard had preached loyalty for over a decade in Portland, doing everything in his power to bring his team closer to a championship. In the end, he ultimately failed to deliver but some would argue that it was Portland who failed Dame. Whatever the case, Lillard is with a new team now and if he wants to validate his decision to leave then he’ll need to achieve good results alongside Giannis Antetokounmpo.
An Ugly Breakup In Portland
The Trail Blazers are arguably better off with the keys in Scoot Henderson’s hands than Lillard’s at this point, but fans were taken aback by Lillard’s requests this summer. For so long, Lillard was one of the few players who stood for loyalty and humility in the game, and somehow even he was pushed to the brink. What followed Lillard’s request was months and months of waiting as Joe Cronin dragged things out closer and closer into the season.
When Lillard finally was moved, it wasn’t to the team that he wanted and it only came after reports that he was denied the opportunity to return to Portland. All of this has created a strenuous situation between Lillard and his former franchise, which is a real shame given how important he is to their history. In Milwaukee, the best hope for Lillard is continued success with Giannis and that he can do the one thing he never did with the Blazers: win at the highest levels of the postseason.
A Rocky Start For The Bucks
As Damian moves his gaze to the season ahead, experts around the league are split on what to expect from the new-look Bucks. On one hand, they have enough firepower to keep up with any team in the league, but, on the other hand, they gave up some valuable pieces in order to get the trade done.
Concerns only rose this week when it was revealed that Bucks assistant coach Terry Stotts (former coach of Lillard’s) resigned from his post and exposed a questionable culture in Milwaukee’s coaching circle. Some believe that Lillard himself may have played a role in his exit. Either way, it’s far from an ideal start for a team looking to win the championship this season, and the Bucks are hoping it’s just a small road bump on the way to a massive success story.
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