“I still believe in Portland”: Damian Lillard issues shocking statement to the media regarding his loyalties despite a rebuilding Blazers side

Loyalty in today’s NBA is rare – Damian Lillard is one of the few left with that trait

Damian Lillard has been with the Portland Trail Blazers for 10 seasons now – he only has 1 Rookie of the year to show for it. The Six-time All-Star may be one of the best individual performers in the league, but when it comes to team accolades, he falls short by a considerable margin. For the longest time, the fans of Portland thought the front office would build something great with the backcourt of CJ McCollum and Dame, but it did not happen.

After CJ got traded to the Pelicans this midseason, the rumors of Dame being next set Twitter ablaze. For someone who had shown nothing but loyalty to the state of Oregon, this was not new. People have called Lillard a coward for not taking the step into a winning team. But these are the same fans who would call him a ring chaser if he went and joined forces with Steph Curry or LeBron James.

Everyone wants a fairy tale story, but once they see it not happening, the bitterness starts to set in. Names start flying, and morals are questioned. It has become somewhat of a meme really, Damian Lillard and his weekly quotes about his loyalty. Anybody would be frustrated, given that even after 10 years, nobody wants to believe him.

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Damian Lillard may want to stay with Portland, despite there being no guarantee on those emotions being reciprocated

With Portland moving CJ from their roster and beginning a rebuild, Dame time may not be long before he moves on either. The young guns have been brilliant since the trade, losing only 1 game and beating the likes of the Milwaukee Bucks, Grizzlies, and the Lakers.

The Blazers may want to leverage Dame for some draft picks while he still is marketable. Already 31, the front office definitely must be looking at the likes of Russell Westbrook and his diminishing returns. Lillard will not get as bad as that, but he isn’t getting any younger. The man still has a few good years left in him, and both should part ways to achieve their future goals.

If he does leave or get traded, people will not mind. They know what he has done for the team, and he deserves the accolades to go with those performances. He currently has the second most number of 50 point games amongst all active players. All that effort and the blazers are no closer to winning a championship than they were 20 years ago.

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