Frustrated Lillard says he hasn’t requested a trade
The topic of trade speculation for weeks, Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard said Friday he hasn’t “made any firm decision” on his future in the NBA.
Speaking with reporters in a video conference the same day that TrueHoop reported a trade demand from the Oakland native was imminent, Lillard reaffirmed that his desire is for the Trail Blazers to make dramatic improvements to the roster after being swept by the Denver Nuggets in the first round of the playoffs.
“I think the best way to put it is just to be more urgent about what our next step is and how we move forward,” Lillard said after Team USA’s practice in Las Vegas. “We have a lot of pride about how we’ve made the playoffs all these years in a row. We’re not a bad team. We’re a winning team. We were in the playoffs every year. We have a great environment, we have a great city, we have great fans. There’s a lot of positives.
“But I just think we’ve reached that point where it’s like, ‘Okay but it’s not enough.’ Do we actually want to win it all? Is that what we’re shooting for? And we have to put action behind that desire to to win at that level. That’s been my only thing this entire time.”
A six-time All-Star, Lillard has spent all nine years of his career in Portland. The Trail Blazers have gone to the playoffs in each of the past eight seasons but have failed to make it to the NBA Finals. Since being swept in their lone Western Conference finals appearance in 2019, the Trail Blazers have been eliminated in the first round the past two seasons.
This led to the dismissal of Terry Stotts, Lillard’s only coach before the Trail Blazers hired former NBA Finals MVP and Clippers assistant Chauncey Billups.
Yahoo’s Chris Haynes reported in June that the inability to put a title-contending roster around Lillard could “push Lillard out of Portland.” TrueHoop on Friday reported that Lillard “plans to request a trade in the days to come.”
When asked if he expects to play in Portland next season, Lillard said “I expect to be.”
Lillard, 31, would like to see how general manager Neil Olshey handles the offseason before making a decision on his future.
Olshey and Billups will visit Lillard in a prearranged visit this weekend before Lillard and Team USA depart for the Tokyo Games. If Portland cannot bolster its roster around Lillard by the time he returns, it could force him to demand a trade. Also on Team USA is Draymond Green, who would surely love to see Lillard in a Warriors uniform next season. As is often the case in these kinds of events, recruiting may be happening. Miami’s Bam Adebayo, Chicago’s Zach LaVine and Boston’s Jayson Tatum all have an opportunity to make their case as well.
Should Golden State get in on a bidding war for Lillard, it could put together an enticing offer centered around Andrew Wiggins, James Wiseman, this year’s seventh and 14th overall picks and multiple future first-round picks.
LOVE DEPARTS, JAVALE MC
GEE ADDED TO TEAM USA
>> Kevin Love has withdrawn from the Olympics because of a right calf injury, forcing the U.S. basketball team to replace two players on its roster.
Ex-Warriors center JaVale McGee and Spurs guard Keldon Johnson were added to the 12-man Olympics roster.
Johnson, who plays for U.S. coach Gregg Popovich in San Antonio, was a member of the select team of young players training against the Americans. McGee, who played for the Cleveland Cavaliers and Denver Nuggets last season, has won three NBA titles but has no Olympic experience.