Adrian Wojnarowski: Damian Lillard has to decide if he wants to grow with this young group. This team will not be competing for the championship this season. I think they’ve done a great job in Portland the last two years in the draft – Shaedon Sharpe last year and then this year, Scoot Henderson and a couple of other good guys that you can see a path to for this young team. And if Damian Lillard wants to go to a competitor, he’s probably somewhere [else] Unless he was willing to wait a few years for this young group to grow. There is no magic trade for them, they will try to re-sign Jerami Grant, and I have some confidence that they will be able to do it. It has definitely been an impact in the past year. Damian Lillard said he wants to spend his career in Portland, he wants to retire the Blazers, he definitely has that opportunity. He will be among the highest paid players in the league for the next few years, but I think Portland did what was right with their organization. To come out third to any better veteran available would have been misconduct. You’re in a market like Portland, you don’t come across that, and you can’t go out in free agency to get star players. Your chance to get a star player is through the draft, and I think they did that last night.
source: GetUpESPN Twitter
source: GetUpESPN Twitter