The Damian Lillard trade saga looks to be headed toward an inevitable conclusion, as Lillard has his heart set on joining the Miami Heat.
Due to Lillard only wanting to go to Miami, he’s come under criticism for not allowing the Portland Trail Blazers to maximize what they get in a trade for him. Former Heat champion Gary Payton wholeheartedly sides with Lillard, believing he definitely should chase a title with the Heat instead of sticking by the Blazers.
“Everybody should chase a championship. Why are we playing basketball? That is the whole object of playing basketball. If you want to go somewhere else if you’ve got a chance to win a championship, go there. And that’s what I saw when I came to Miami. So I came here, look what happened.”
Lillard averaged 32.2 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 7.3 assists last season and the Blazers weren’t even close to making the play-in tournament. That is a waste of Lillard’s abilities, especially when he’s at age 33 and has a small window of competition left in his career.
Damian Lillard Influencing Heat Culture
Gary Payton added a lot more to his argument supporting Lillard’s desire to join the Heat, saying that Dame could do more with a few seasons on the Heat than he did in 12 seasons with the Blazers due to Heat Culture.
“He’s a tough guy. We’re from Oakland, California. He’s going to bite into the same thing I did, the culture here. He’ll give what Pat wants, what Spo wants. He will be a great fit here. I’ll guarantee you, what he did in Portland, he’ll do more here. You’ll have more of a culture here of winning. So I think it’ll be a good fit for him.”
Lillard does seem like a player that would be the living embodiment of Heat Culture, given his aggressive style of play and dedication on the court. Just like everyone always saw how strong Jimmy Butler could be with ‘Heat Culture’ around him, Lillard may reap similar results. With Butler as his running mate, both players may finally win the NBA championship that’s been eluding them so far in their careers.
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