Matt Barnes Says He Hopes Damian Lillard Never Plays For The Portland Trail Blazers Again

Matt Barnes doesn't want to see Damian Lillard in a Blazers jersey ever again.

4 Min Read

Credit: Rob Gray/USA Today Sports

The Portland Trail Blazers are officially out of contention to even make the play-in tournament in the Western Conference. Despite one of the best seasons of Damian Lillard’s life, he has not been able to carry his team to the playoffs. 

Naturally, there is a lot of speculation about Damian Lillard‘s future, as there always is, but Matt Barnes has given a strong take on the whole situation. Rachel Nichols asked him if we would ever see Lillard in a Blazers uniform again. and Barnes had this to say: “I hope we don’t see Damian Lillard in a Portland Trail Blazers uniform no more. And that’s no knock on him. As loyal as he is, you got to respect that.

“I think the only way Dame leaves Portland is if they make him leave. If they understand, they’re going to be in a rebuild. And we understand that he’s at a point in his career where he doesn’t want to rebuild. I think if Portland almost forces him out… I think Portland’s going to have to push him out to get him to leave. I don’t think he’s going to leave at this point.”

This is a harsh take from Matt Barnes, but one that makes quite a bit of sense. Damian Lillard has proved that no matter what happens, he will not voluntarily walk away. As such, the Blazers have also been unable to win with him despite doing quick rebuilds. Lillard has been vocal about not caring about legacy discussions enough to leave, but perhaps the time has come for him and the franchise to part ways. 


Damian Lillard Doesn’t Care For NBA Fans And Media Telling Him To Leave The Trail Blazers

The situation is less than ideal, Damian Lillard isn’t a fan of people telling him what to do. He recently hit out at media members like Barnes and even fans that tell him he should walk away from the franchise. 

“Y’all just don’t know but they speak as if they just know what’s best and they know how everything is going to play out,” said Lillard. “They know how everything should go and this means that. 

“Half the time, people don’t know what the hell they talking about… they don’t know the individuals they talking about, they don’t know these people, and they don’t know our lives. They don’t know why we make the decisions they make.”

This quote makes it clear what Lillard thinks of him leaving the Trail Blazers, although the franchise could still choose to move on from him. It promises to be another uncertain but this time, potentially explosive summer for Dame and the Blazers. 

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Divij Kulkarni is an NBA columnist for Fadeaway World. He has covered the NBA and the English Premier League, with 4 years of experience in creating sports content. Finding exciting and intriguing content about all things NBA is both his job and his passion. Divij loves the Dallas Mavericks and can be regularly observed getting emotional during games. Outside of basketball, he enjoys reading fantasy and sci-fi novels, consuming copious amounts of movies and TV, and spending time with his dog, Olivia. Expertise: NBA, Historical Sports ResearchFavorite Team: Dallas MavericksFeatured On HoopsHype, Sports Illustrated, Secret Base, MSNPrevious Work: Tribuna
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