Over the past few years, Damian Lillard has been on a wild cycle with the media.
At the end of each season, Lillard’s name gets tossed in trade rumors as the basketball world speculates about his future in Portland. After a while, Dame himself usually has to shoot down the rumors to some degree by reminding the world of his loyalty to the team.
This past summer, those rumors reached a whole new level and it was suggested several times that he wanted out of the franchise.
Despite Dame speaking out publicly against the noise, the rumors continued into the season with the 76ers making it known that Lillard was their top target.
Caught in the loop again, a clearly frustrated Lillard spoke to the media once again, where he outright denounced the trade rumors while calling for some accountability on reporters who spread false stories.
“Half of these dudes, national people, they don’t know me. They don’t have my number, I don’t know them personally. They don’t have to live with the consequences of no decision I make. It’s easy for them to say, ‘I heard this.’ When they’re wrong, nobody go back & check them on it…
You can criticize how I play or who I am as a player, that’s one thing. But who I am as a person and the things that I say, I mean them. That’s one thing that I stand on and I know people can’t challenge me on that.”
"You can criticize how I play or who I am as a player, that’s one thing. But who I am as a person & the things that I say, I mean them. That’s one thing that I stand on & I know people can’t challenge me on that." – @dame_lillard pic.twitter.com/HDiHfSeufF
— Portland Trail Blazers (@trailblazers) December 10, 2021
Lillard himself did reveal some of the challenges he faced after Portland’s disappointing first-round exit last summer. He found himself seriously questioning his future.
But he came out of it all with a renewed commitment to the Blazers. Despite the urge to go and build a superteam, Dame decided that he’s not about that life — he never has been.
He wants to try and win it in Portland, even if it means not winning at all. Obviously, that is a truth to accept for many…
