Dame Lillard "I'm too solid for this weird azz era"

Biggest problem with the Blazers is not realizing that Lillard is probably historically the most overrated superstar in generations. Not once has he been within 2/3 as good as Harden. And we know Harden is not good enough to be that 1a for a championship team.

Instead the Blazers and the media have bought into this super Lillard superstar narrative.

 

Lebron was smart enough to realize in-spite of his loyalty, he couldn't get it done in Cleveland as it was, made the change, and the rest is history. Lillard just as loyal. But took him a little longer. While it's good for the fans for the player to be loyal, it's not in the best interest of the player. What you come to realize in life is that no matter how hard your work and how loyal you are, the company is not going to be loyal back to you at some inevitable point. Especially in sport. So you should look out for your own aspirations as soon as possible. Take the risk. This is where Shaq was way ahead of most players. He took the risk super early and secured his place in history.

 

Lilliard's ego and image are causing his own downfall. Sad to see.

 

Neither side wants to be the “bad guy”. Cowards.

 

I live in Portland. I watch the Blazers on occasion...and would even pull for them if they're intriguing enough. I fully support a Dame trade if, and only if, you include announcer Lamar Hurd in the deal. He is horrendous.

Plus, the second Dame is gone, this place is gonna sink fast...

 

Funny, he has to play solid mentor to those kids now in this weird azz era.

 

https://theathletic.com/4640012/2023/06/26/nba-free-agency-news-rumors-damian-lillard-james-harden/

Is this the offseason, at long last, in which Damian Lillard pushes his way out of Portland?

This next week or so looms extremely large on that front.

For all the focus on the Trail Blazers’ draft on Thursday, with the widely held belief that he wanted them to trade the No. 3 pick in exchange for a star-level veteran as a way of dissuading him from asking for a trade, it’s clear now that it was never quite that simple. A path remains — however narrow it might be — for him to be content with the Trail Blazers’ state of affairs heading into next season. There is some time left, albeit not much, and some patience too. But the Blazers’ dire need to add elite talent remains.

Without it, these may be Lillard’s last days in the City of Roses.

As Trail Blazers general manager Joe Cronin shared with the local media on Saturday, Lillard is expected to meet with Blazers officials after he returns from his recent trip to Paris. According to a source briefed on the situation, the meeting to discuss the next steps of the roster-building process will likely be early this week. After all, free agency (officially) begins on June 30 at 6 p.m. ET and there is much to ponder on that front.

Yet while there are all sorts of shared enthusiasm about the additions of Scoot Henderson (with the No. 3 pick), Kris Murray (at No. 23) and Rayan Rupert (at No. 43), the source said nothing has changed about Lillard’s strong desire to play with the kind of high-level players that would make the Blazers contenders again. The youth movement, impressive though it might be, isn’t enough.

So, what would it take to convince Lillard that Portland is still the place to be for the rest of his NBA days? Here’s one solution that is known to be a dream scenario from Lillard’s vantage point: Re-sign forward Jerami Grant and add four-time All-Star/four-time champion Draymond Green in free agency.

While Golden State is known to be extremely confident about Green re-signing, the price of his return is likely to be a point of contention. Enter the Blazers, who could make Green the unofficial savior in this sensitive Lillard situation while giving him a chance to add to his legacy in a different jersey after 11 seasons with the Warriors. Except for one (massive) problem: As is the case with so many of these scenarios, it would take some serious salary cap wizardry by Cronin to make this happen.

While the Blazers have Grant’s Bird rights and can thus re-sign him despite being over the salary cap, they currently have no room to sign someone of Green’s ilk. Especially considering he’s likely looking for a deal in the mid-$20 million range annually. There are sign-and-trade pathways to be explored, and likely with a third team needing to be involved, but it’s an implausible prospect to say the least. And again, all signs point to Green wanting to stay put.

There are other (unlikely) possibilities that would suffice, too, among them the addition of either Pascal Siakam or OG Anunoby from the Toronto Raptors. While league-wide interest remains high on both players, Raptors president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri has continued to rebuff the many suitors. The farther you go down this list of potential ways to calm the Lillard waters, the more likely it seems that he’ll be forced to face this stay-or-go fork in the road soon. In a holistic sense, the meeting between Lillard and the Blazers this week will have everything to do with what comes next between these two parties.

If Cronin and his staff are truly trying to scour the league for another star, following through on the messaging that sources say Lillard has received from both Cronin and owner Jody Allen, then Lillard likely won’t make a final decision on how to play this until the early stages of the free agency period have passed. But if they’re not, as a recent ESPN report seemed to suggest, then the prospect of Lillard asking out might be around the corner. Key questions like these will surely be at the heart of their meeting.

But if there isn’t a meeting of the Trail Blazers minds in Portland this week, and if the roster upgrades that are proving so difficult to pull off don’t come to fruition when the calendar turns to July and the crucial week that follows, it’s all eyes on Miami from there. Lillard indeed has serious interest in joining the Heat, who would surely love to pair him with Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo. If it reaches this point — and there’s still an “if” here considering all the times Lillard chose not to ask out before — Lillard’s wishes would matter a great deal because of the enormity of his contract.

With four seasons and a combined $216 million left on his deal (including a player option worth $63 million in the 2026-27 season), the prospect of a team trading for Lillard against his wishes is hard to fathom. So while he doesn’t have the kind of no-trade clause that played such a pivotal part in the recent Bradley Beal trade from Washington to Phoenix, his leverage in the situation is similar.

 

This is hilarious and I hope it happens.

 

I’d love him on the Heat! Hope he can stop holding himself back.

 

What team without all stars have a shot? What he said makes no sense.

 

In his head, he's the smartest person alive. A soldier.

 

I don’t mind him wanting to be loyal, but he can go out and bring free agents in too and it’s not like he’s working with the team to make that happen. Honestly, it should really only be avoiding the team-hopping that truly matters. Otherwise, put together a good team in the Blazers and bring some chips home.

 

It’s an admirable stance, but he’s part of the problem. He’s entitled to every dollar he can get, but if adding additional players is important, maybe you sacrifice a little.

 

I can't remember any player having a mega-superstar level discussion surrounding him while not having a superstar level impact on the game.

Lillard at one point knew he was an outstanding player while knowing his overall impact wasn't at a superstar level, that's why he was comfortable in Portland, but even he has bought what the media is selling about him.

I get that the media and the NBA would prefer his level of attention, because fans do gravitate towards him, to be in another city, that's why they have been pulling him away for years, but we've all been hoodwinked.

That said, it'd be nice to see the Heat and Butler win next year's championship with him being the final piece.