Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard is apparently contemplating calling it a season. With his team sitting at 31-40, they have practically no hope of making the Western Conference play-ins with just weeks of action left to go.
Now, sitting in the ruins of another wasted season, fans and analysts are calling for the superstar to finally take action. Speaking on First Take this week, Stephen A. Smith practically begged Lillard to force his hand and request a trade.
“I don’t know how many times he has to have been told. The Portland Trail Blazers are not the place to be. There’s been about 17 or 18 games this year where they’ve had a 17-18 point lead and they’ve lost the lead. You just don’t see that very often. They just don’t have it,” said Stephen A. “Damian Lillard has been there long enough, and in the end, if you want to be in a competitive situation, and you want to maximize your potential, you have to insist on being in a better situation as opposed to showing the level of loyalty and patience that he has shown. He’s given this organization everything he’s had, but it hasn’t worked.”
"He's [Damian Lillard] given this organization [Trail Blazers] everything he's had, it hasn't worked… He's got to be committed to going into a better situation."
Stephen A. Smith reacts on Portland possibly shutting down Dame. pic.twitter.com/Y3uDh4D7dU
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) March 21, 2023
Historically, the Blazers have been a steady playoff team under Dame and even made a run to the Western Conference Finals in 2019. But it’s been a nightmare ever since, with the team seeing a drop-off year after year.
Coming into this season, there was tangible hope that Portland could emerge as a potential playoff threat, but those hopes were quickly dashed after they blew a 10-4 start.
Damian Lillard’s True Feelings On NBA Ring Culture
While Lillard himself probably would not deny that leaving the Blazers would be easier than staying, winning a ring is not the only thing that motivates his loyalties.
“The NBA I play in now, is not the NBA I came into,” said Lillard. “I play for the love of the game; I want the competition. I want to know what it feels like to win. I want to see my teammates do well… I enjoy the bonding part of it. Now it’s like… regular season don’t count. Get a ring… What is this?”
Obviously, being a Trail Blazer means a lot to Lillard, and he’s not going to give that up just for the sake of ring chasing. If he can win one with the Blazers, he’d obviously love it, but he’s not going to let his greed for a championship force him out of an objectively solid situation in Portland, where he’s the beloved franchise star who is in total control.
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