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PORTLAND, Oregon — Damian Lillard’s lows came in the summer of 2021, on the heels of an embarrassing playoff loss to the Denver Nuggets. On the nights after his first round exit, he said he couldn’t sleep. His insomnia wasn’t because he was eliminated by Nuggets backcourt starting Facundo Campazzo and Austin Rivers, it was because he wondered if the people around him in the Blazers organization cared about losing as much as he did.
That summer led to a turnaround for Lillard. Suddenly, it seemed the organization that had done everything for him—his approval and opinion sought on everything from player moves and training appointments to training and flight departure times—wasn’t doing enough.
So he began to express his displeasure, first internally and then publicly, albeit in ways that would allow Lillard to declare that no one would hear him out of his mouth, thus protecting him from backlash. He felt the Blazers should have given him more roster help, a feeling that only heightened that summer when he watched PJ Tucker win a ring with the Milwaukee Bucks in July 2021.
In 2020, Lillard believed the Blazers had an inside track to lure Tucker away from the Houston Rockets. Carmelo Anthony, then with the Blazers, was in frequent contact with Tucker and was convinced Tucker would be on board with the Blazers. So, Lillard went to Blazers general manager Neil Olshey and asked him to make it happen.
Instead, he traded Olshey to Trevor Ariza, who was strong but didn’t help the playoffs later in the 2020 season when he opted out of the NBA Bubble. For Lillard, it was another missed opportunity.
As much as Lillard has declared his desire to stay in Portland, his Saturday trade request has been a long time coming. It looks like the last straw may have occurred last week, when Blazers general manager Joe Cronin didn’t follow through on his goal of building a now profitable product around Lillard. Armed with the third pick, 23rd pick, and a young 20-point scorer at Anfernee Simons, Cronin not only made a deal to bring in the veteran assist, but also drafted the obvious Lillard heir in Scoot Henderson.
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There will be some who were disappointed with Lillard for asking him. Many will blame the Blazers for fumbling the most offensive player in franchise history for inactivity. I don’t know if either of them are to blame. Lillard has earned the right to ask if this is what pleases him, and I think the majority of Blazers fans will wish him the best and hope he wins that coveted title. But I don’t get the idea that the Blazers never tried to help build a winner around it.
The Blazers have always wanted to do the right thing by Lillard. They gave him input on every decision except for the draft. No move was made by the Blazers that Lillard did not agree with. He was on board with free agent decisions (Evan Turner, Ben McLemore, Gary Payton II), with trades (Jusuf Nurkic, Rodney Hood, Enes Kanter, Norman Powell, Robert Covington, Jerami Grant) and agreed that the team should welcome Milo. And for two seasons, Portland went so far as to use a roster spot for his cousin, Kilgene Blevins.
Portland also had some terrible injuries on the run. Wesley Matthews blew his Achilles in March 2015 when Portland posted the West’s third-best record. Nurkic broke his leg in March 2019, the year the Blazers went to the Western Conference Finals. And Zack Collins had shoulder problems, then ankle surgeries when he inherited the starting power forward spot. Now healthy in San Antonio, Collins looks poised for an impressive career.
There was hope that Lillard would find a relationship with the new general manager. They talked a lot. They said they share the same vision. And in April, during his post-season media briefing, Lillard practically bragged that he knows the players who want to come to Portland, players who can “move the needle.” This wasn’t the first time Lillard had been under the illusion that players were lining up to play him, nor was it the first time he felt like the front office wasn’t following him. But we now know that it wasn’t only Olshey who somehow couldn’t land this big fish to please Lillard.
This does not mean who is right and who is wrong in all of this. This is mostly to explain why this is all so disappointing. Blazers and Lillard were perfect for each other. Like Portland, Lillard considers himself an underdog. He was sitting in high school. He was recruited lightly and ended up at Weber State. Portland has long held a grudge that it is disadvantaged as a small market, receiving unfair treatment from umpires and national media coverage. Not only did the Portland community relate to Billard, they loved him and his story, and when I love Portland again? It was powerful stuff.
Even with new blood up and down the organizational ladder—new owner, new president, new general manager, new coach—the franchise was in agreement that they wanted Lillard and should build around him. So it’s disappointing that with all this confidence of mind, and all this love they couldn’t find the right communication, the right plan, or the accepted follow-up to make it happen.
And mostly, it’s disappointing that Blazers fans are going through this divorce. The fan base loved Lillard as much as any other player. There can be debate as to whether Lillard tops Clyde Drexler or Bill Walton as the greatest Blazer of all time, but there is no debate as to which player has dominated the heartland of this area. Lillard was. He hit two of the most memorable shots in franchise history – Dagger 0.9 to eliminate Houston in 2014 And the wave-bye-bye 3 to eliminate Oklahoma City in 2019 — and immerse himself in society more frequently and enthusiastically than any other Blazers star. He was intimately involved with Special Olympics, and his RESPECT project with high schools in the Portland area was not just a show, he was actively involved. He spoke at rallies, and promoted students on social media, all while amplifying his message for students to show up, work hard, and be kind.
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He was everything an organization and fan base would want in a franchise star, and then some.
But things have changed.
In 2021, the eight deaths within 18 months of his family and those within his inner circle lead him to reflect on his own death, which he shared with him. the athlete on time:
“I thought about (not playing), because mentally I was like… I don’t want to say I didn’t care, because I did,” Lillard said. “But emotionally, I was like, ‘Whatever.'”
His emotions were weak because in the past 18 months, it seemed like he had lived his entire life. In 2020, he was the first to discover the dead body of his cousin and personal chef. An aunt died of cancer. A family friend died of COVID-19. And in the early months of 2021, a cousin was murdered in West Auckland.
Then last Thursday, the day before the Lakers game, Lillard learned that two people in his inner circle had been shot dead. One of them was a cousin close enough to Lillard to come to his family’s Thanksgiving dinner in Portland that November. The other was like family—probably the best friend of his closest cousin, who was among the first family members to move to Portland when Lillard was recruited by the Trail Blazers in 2012.
“I could be 45,” said Lillard, 30. “I’ve seen and been around a lot.”
His primary injury, which became so bad at the end of 2021 that he finished his season to have it surgically fixed, has him worried about his pro schedule.
Lillard soon became fixated on how the Blazers organization failed, ignoring what was one of the last great symbiotic relationships in professional sports. This is not to say that Portland as an organization was perfect. He was not a lady. And somewhere between mistakes, they both missed out on what made the other great. Lillard missed the amount of empowerment and freedom the Blazers gave him. And the Blazers seem to have underestimated Lillard’s earnestness and urgency to win at a high level.
I will miss him. We all will. But I wouldn’t miss what this relationship with the Blazers has become. Veiled threats to demand a trade, always under the guise of “You never heard me say it.” And I won’t miss the organization walking on eggshells wondering if he’s happy enough. No single player is bigger than the franchise, and if the Blazers weren’t guilty of violating this creed, then they were toeing the line. There were many who were exhausted by all this.
Now, Blazers fans could have a new, healthier obsession than worry about Lillard’s future and what his latest social media post was supposed to mean. The Blazers are starting to build a young and exciting core. With Scoot Henderson’s speed and explosiveness, Sharpe’s flight, and Simons’ shooting, the Blazers could become one of the funniest teams of the night. I have no idea how to stop the teams, but I bet you watching two plays per game will make you jump out of your seat. Therefore, they may not win many matches. guess what? The Blazers had not played in the past two seasons with Lillard. There is now at least a clear trend, not a poor concept of trying to get famous stars in the name of appeasing Lillard.
In a statement on Saturday, Cronin said his stance has never changed: “We made it clear we wanted a lady here, but he informed us today that he wants out and would rather play elsewhere. What has not changed for us is that we are committed to winning, and we will do what is best for the team in pursuit.” to achieve this goal.”
Make no mistake: this is a sad day. An era has ended. wrist taps. I mean cups. That streak of eight consecutive playoff appearances. All franchise records—71 points a game, 19,376 career points—every buzzer hitter.
He was an astonishingly exceptional player, and to many behind the scenes within the organization—those who sold tickets, cleaned the gym, and ran their promotions—as influential and thoughtful as anyone.
Not only did Lillard embrace Portland, he gave her back. This is a beautiful combination, and he should have a huge say in determining his legacy.
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(Photo by Damian Lillard: Soobum Im/Getty Images)