Portland Trailblazers star Damian Lillard woke up to trade reports from basketball website TrueHoop stating he’d soon request a trade to be dealt from Portland in the days to come. He’d quickly deny those rumors in an interview after Team USA’s practice on Friday.
“It’s not true. I’ll start off the rip and say it’s not true,” said Lillard. “A lot of things are being said. It hasn’t come from me. I haven’t made any firm decision on what my future will be.”
There’s been uncertainty around Lillard’s future since the team’s early exit in the playoffs, but he’s made it known that major changes need to happen moving forward.
“The best way to put it is be more urgent,” Lillard stated. “Be urgent about our next step and how we move forward. We’ve made the playoffs all these years. We’re not a bad team, we’re a good team. It’s a lot of positives. But we’ve reached that point where it’s not enough.”
Lillard’s been in constant communication with Blazers’ general manager Neil Olshey about the team’s future and offseason plans. He even planned to meet over dinner in Las Vegas with Olshey and new Blazers coach Chauncey Billups on Friday.
For Lillard, there’s no shame in wanting Portland to progress quicker than they have in recent years. Four of the past five seasons for the Blazers have ended in the team being eliminated in the first round of the playoffs, all with Lillard and CJ McCollum leading the way.
“We’re not losing a lot, but we were eliminated by a shorthanded Denver team that I felt we should have beat. I just walked away from that really disappointed,” said Lillard. “I was like, ‘Man, this just isn’t going to work.’ We’re not winning the championship, but we’ve got a successful organization.”
With his birthday passing on Thursday, the now 31-year-old point guard isn’t getting any younger and is in the prime of his career. The ball is now in the Blazers’ court to make the moves needed to win a championship and keep Lillard happy.
“My intention in my heart is to be in a Blazers uniform my entire career,” said Lillard. “You want to win it all. But we have to be making the strides to do that.”
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