Damian Lillard is heading into yet another season as the star point guard of the Portland Trail Blazers. The Blazers have been competitive over the last decade mainly because of Lillard ensuring the team is relevant, as they fell to the lottery without him last season. He signed a mega extension to stay with the team for 2 additional seasons, strongly indicating that Lillard wants to retire with the team and won’t ask to leave.
Kevin Garnett believes Lillard should look towards a new team and try to pair himself up with a dynamic big man. KG’s preferred choice was Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, but he also named other players like Anthony Davis and Karl-Anthony Towns.
“I wanna see him with Jokic and they run the pick-and-roll from the top of the key. I want to see him with Anthony Davis or KAT, somebody. I wanna see him with other greats, some other bigs that can make him. We’ve seen Dame Dolla, we’re seeing him and what he looks like. Imagine if he was with somebody that is just as good as him and is on the same level.”
We can always hypothesize about the fantastic duos and rosters that could be formed if Lillard was elsewhere. However, he has made his desire to stay in Portland abundantly clear and it doesn’t seem like that will change now, after he signed another extension with the team.
Is It Realistic To Discuss A Lillard Departure?
NBA media loves to talk about Lillard and how he is wasting his career in Portland as they consistently fail to build a team capable of winning the title around him. This year’s Blazers are expected to be in the race for the play-in, not a ringing endorsement of a team with a superstar-caliber point guard in Lillard.
Dame has made it clear that he wants to stay in Portland, so we can stop dreaming about combos that would make him even more lethal than he is. Garnett wants to see him with Jokic, but having an inside force like Joel Embiid on this team may suit Dame’s play style better. Either way, these combos are sensational but may only work if the Blazers can get Denver or Philadelphia to give their stars up.
