The Portland Trail Blazers and their fans can rest easy knowing that superstar point guard Damian Lillard is committed to the franchise. He wants to be there for the long-term and win an NBA championship doing things his way. But, that doesn’t mean he was always so committed.
This offseason, Damian Lillard weighed his options.
Was requesting a trade to go elsewhere ultimately what he would have to do to achieve his goal of winning an NBA Championship? Or could Portland ownership and management do enough to build a roster around him that could compete?
Lillard wrestled with the idea, going back and forth. Then, a meeting with LeBron James at his house, along with Anthony Davis, gave Lillard all of the clarification that he needed.
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Ultimately, Lillard decided that he would be committing to the Trail Blazers after that meeting. But, he did consider the idea of what things would be like were he to join James and Davis on the Los Angeles Lakers.
“‘Bron asked what I was thinking with my situation, and I told him what I’m telling you: that I just want to be in a position to win it all,” Lillard said. “He painted the picture to me that if I were to leave, the situation could look like this. He didn’t tell me to come to L.A., and he didn’t say anything to me that I didn’t already know other than what it could look like. I told him, ‘I know if I were to play with y’all, I know it would work out because of my skill set,’ and who I am and who they are.”
Lillard could understand where James and Davis were coming from when they discussed their early playoff exits and how it was like to change teams. But, as a proponent against super teams, it was ultimately not something he wanted to do.
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Lillard respected James enough to take the meeting, but joining the Los Angeles Lakers was not something near the top of his list. It may have been a moot point anyway, as Chris Haynes of Yahoo! Sports also shared that Trail Blazers general manager, Neil Olshey, would never have traded Lillard to the Lakers.
Watching those three play on the court together would have been a sight to see given all of their skill sets. But, watching Damian Lillard try and take down the superstar-laden teams around the league in David vs. Goliath matchups while wearing a Portland Trail Blazers jersey could be just as enjoyable.
