Damian Lillard trade rumors have cooled off lately. It doesn’t seem like the Portland Trail Blazers will engage in any talks right now as he’s the cornerstone of the franchise.
Lillard is one of the best players in the world and he’s clearly outgrown the Blazers. Nonetheless, he’s repeatedly stated that he’s looking forward to playing in Portland for his entire career.
Even so, that doesn’t mean that the Blazers are in the clear right now. They need to make moves to convince him to stay for the long run, and even though he hasn’t publically requested a trade, a famous NBA analyst believes that the situation is far from good at RIP City:
“He’s (Lillard) definitely towing that line of being as delicate as possible without committing… If you actually listen to what he’s saying is like, ‘I haven’t formally demanded it but don’t sit and think that everything’s great. He’s making it clear, I’m not happy but stopping from saying, get me out of here,” Amin Elhassan told Sirius XM NBA Radio.
"He's making it clear, I'm not happy."
🔊 Amin Elhassan explains why Damian Lillard's latest comments about his future should make Portland uneasy #RipCity pic.twitter.com/2wQ4PG8vvM
— SiriusXM NBA Radio (@SiriusXMNBA) August 29, 2021
That makes sense. Lillard has been outspoken regarding the team’s current status and hasn’t shied away from controversies. He’s said that they’re just not good enough to compete right now.
On the other hand, Lillard doesn’t want the narrative to be “he wants out of Portland” rather than “the Blazers aren’t doing enough to help their star,” and that’s pretty fair and valid.
Lillard has repeatedly put the Blazers in his back, leading them to unlikely playoff berths year after year despite injuries, questionable coaching, and boasting one of the worst defenses in the NBA.
But Lillard is also a competitor and he knows that the clock is ticking. He wants to win a ring while he’s in his prime, so the Blazers have an uphill path ahead of them.
