Damian Lillard gave 11 years to the Portland Trail Blazers in hopes of winning an NBA Championship with them. However, the organization couldn’t build a championship-caliber roster around him.
It led to Lillard requesting a trade out of Portland. The Trail Blazers’ general manager Joe Cronin admitted he failed Damian Lillard and didn’t do everything in his power to create a good team around his cornerstone superstar.
“I don’t feel that I did everything I could because I was able to get done what we had hoped to get done,” Cronin said. “The effort being there, which it was, that’s one thing. But actually following through and getting the result is a whole another and to that extent, I do feel like I failed Dame.
“Our goal was always to win around him and to be as high level as possible as quickly as possible. Whether even internally if we thought well, ‘Hey we’re going in the right direction. Here we can get there pretty quickly.’ If he didn’t feel that way, that was still a failure on my end.”
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The Trail Blazers reached the 2019 Western Conference Finals, only to be swept by the Golden State Warriors. Outside of that, the organization hasn’t done anything substantial with Lillard as the spearhead of the team.
As for getting quality teammates, LaMarcus Aldridge and CJ McCollum were Damian Lillard’s best teammates during his time in Portland. But neither was good enough to get the Trail Blazers to the NBA Finals.
Joe Cronin Says It Could Take Months To Find The Perfect Trade For Damian Lillard
Damian Lillard has made it abundantly clear that he only wants to play for the Miami Heat. Dame’s stance is clear, but it doesn’t mean the Trail Blazers are in a hurry to get the trade finalized.
In fact, Joe Cronin recently revealed he’s ready to wait for months if that’s how long it takes to find the perfect trade for the 32-year-old superstar.
The two sides are seemingly in a stalemate. With Lillard shooting down interest from any other franchises, will he be able to force a move to the Miami Heat? We will find out over the next few weeks or months, perhaps.
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