The Portland Trail Blazers have been a consistently great regular-season team over the last few seasons. They always seem to do well enough to make the playoffs, but the Trail Blazers have only made it past the second round once in the last 8 years.
Damian Lillard has been a key part of the team’s success, and it is highly likely that without him they wouldn’t even be able to make the playoffs. Lillard is one of the most loyal stars in the NBA, but there were some reports that suggested Lillard was planning to request a trade from the Trail Blazers, and the report stated that the Blazers “have been melting since their playoff exit” to the Denver Nuggets.
Since then, that report has been rebuked by Damian Lillard himself, and at the time, Lillard had no “firm decision” on his future. As of now though, definitely seems as though he is planning to stay with the Portland Trail Blazers. Just this month, Lillard posted on Instagram about how he’d be “back for more” in the city of Portland. There’s also the most recent article by Jason Quick of The Athletic, where it’s revealed that Lillard felt “even more convinced” that he could win a championship with Portland after the Milwaukee Bucks managed to win it all this season.
What gives him hope is something Green mentioned about Golden State’s first title in 2015. And it was similar to what Billups on Monday brought up about last season’s Phoenix Suns: Nobody expected the Warriors or the Suns in those seasons to vault into title contention.
“I was sitting there, and I was like, it can really be done,” Lillard said. “That’s how I feel: It can be done.”
And after he watched small-market Milwaukee win the NBA title, “I was even more convinced.”
“Sometimes, it happens when it was least expected,” Lillard said. “You just never know.”
Damian Lillard is a bonafide superstar, and his offensive prowess has shown him lift up many teams without an All-Star teammate. There’s no doubt that he can be a great primary option for a playoff team. His new coach, Chauncey Billups, was a championship point guard, and perhaps the best is yet to come for Lillard himself after the coaching change.
It remains to be seen if Damian Lillard will be able to win a championship with the Trail Blazers, but it seems as though he is committed to attempting to do so. You can’t fault a player for being loyal, and hopefully, Damian Lillard finds the championship success he is looking for.
