Damian Lillard opens up on CJ McCollum's trade, staying in Portland

For years, people have talked about how Damian Lillard should just leave the Portland Trail Blazers if he wants to win an NBA championship. For some, he’s already outgrown the small market and is wasting his career.

Dame has been tied to multiple teams throughout his career. From his obvious ties with the Golden State Warriors and Utah Jazz, to people speculating about the New York Knicks and Los Angeles Lakers.

But after all he’s been through in Portland, Lillard has always had the same response for people questioning his next career step: ‘I want to stay with the Trail Blazers and spend my entire career with this organization.’ That hasn’t changed despite their roster overhaul.

Damian Lillard Wants To Stay Loyal To Portland

“I think something that’s important people realize is that it’s a business,” Lillard told Complex. “Everybody’s like, ‘Oh this person’s loyal, that person’s loyal.’ They kind of throw that word around loosely. But, for me, I’m loyal to what I believe. I do love living in Portland. I do love playing for the Trail Blazers.”

“But I’ve built this,” the All-Star guard added.“I’ve been part of this for 10 years. I’ve been part of the change here and us being a successful franchise. I know what means something to me in my heart. And that’s winning a championship here. That’s why I’m so committed to that. And that’s my personal feelings. That’s being loyal to how I feel and how I operate. It is what it is. That’s what I want to see happen and I remain just committed to that as long as that’s the goal, that’s the plan.”

Lillard Will Miss CJ McCollum

The Blazers traded away most of their core, including Lillard’s ride-or-die CJ McCollum. Needless to say, that’s going to be tough for Dame, but he always knew that was a possibility in this business:

“All of these guys are my friends, especially CJ,” Lillard said. “I’ve been playing with CJ for nine years and we spent a lot of time around each other, with each other—you know, in the summer, on vacation, dinner, whatever; we train together, we’ve done everything together. Sat next to each other our whole career on every flight. You know, that’s the toughest one for me to deal with.”

Lillard is too good of a player and a leader not to win a ring in his career. But one of the biggest reasons why people respect him so much is because of his determination to build something from scratch.