“I Hope So”: Damian Lillard, Who is on a $220 Million Contract With Blazers, ‘Will See’ If He Wants to be in Portland Forever

Damian Lillard became one of the highest-paid players in the NBA this off-season when the Blazers reportedly extended his 4-year $176 Million contract with a $59 million and $63 million addition, which keeps him in Portland until 2027.

But it looks like that $122 million, the addition of the likes of Gerami Grant and Gary Payton II to an already capable squad, nothing, would be enough for him to stay if they don’t win a championship this year.

Also read: 4x NBA Champion Stephen Curry Dishes Out His All-Time Starting 5 List

Despite being the top-5 best-paid player in the league, Damian Lillard is still unsure about Portland

Hours before his 40-point effort, a losing one against the Denver Nuggets last night, GQ put out their Actually Me segment with Lillard where he answered a fan Tweet asking him whether he would stay in his current club forever.

Dame Time didn’t give the answer that the fans in Portland must be hoping for. He could only offer, “I hope so. We’ll see,” as of now.

Although they do have a winning record (15-13) and still have to get GPII in the line-up, who is due mid-December to make his debut with the Blazers, they will still face a tough time getting out of the West considering their recent slump. The Blazers have lost 8 of their last 11 games.

Anything less than a Championship might mean Portland loses Lillard

As he said in that clip, the only thing that Dame needs is a championship in his already legendary career.

Anything short of a Finals or a championship might not be enough for the 32-year-old star to be content with his team and even if he has a monstrous contract, plenty of teams would happily have him on their roster.

So, if the Blazers don’t do anything big this season they must prepare themselves to get a superstar to pair up with Dame, or be ready to lose him in a trade that would compensate them well enough.

Lillard has particularly made his wishes clear about who would want to play with, and Bucks for one is certainly not going to let that man walk for anything that the Blazers might have to offer. We have ourselves pretty exciting offseasons in the next few years.

Also read: Amidst 3-8 Slide, Damian Lillard Picks Giannis Antetokounmpo As His Dream Teammate On The Blazers

About the author

Akash Murty

An Electrical and Electronics Engineer by degree, Akash Murty is an NBA Editor at The SportsRush. Previously a Software Engineer, Murty couldn’t keep himself away from sports, and his knack for writing and putting his opinion forward brought him to the TSR. A big Soccer enthusiast, his interest in basketball developed late, as he got access to a hoop for the first time at 17. Following this, he started watching basketball at the 2012 Olympics, which transitioned to NBA, and he became a fan of the game as he watched LeBron James dominate the league. Him being an avid learner of the game and ritually following the league for around a decade, he now writes articles ranging from throwbacks, and live game reports, to gossip. LA Lakers are his favourite basketball team, while Chelsea has his heart in football. He also likes travelling, reading fiction, and sometimes cooking.

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