It’s not a secret that Damian Lillard has already outgrown the Portland Trail Blazers. No disrespect to that franchise whatsoever, but their roster isn’t built to win an NBA championship at this moment.
Should he become available, at least half of the league would most definitely pursue him. He’s one of the finest scorers in the world, a leader on and off the court, and a guy that could lead almost every team to the playoffs.
That’s why Philadelphia 76ers fans wanted to do their part and started recruiting him right away. They chanted “We want Lillard” when his team host the Blazers last night at Wells Fargo Center.
NBA News: Damian Lillard Says He’s ‘Ten Toes In RIP City’
Dame was clearly humbled by that and shoutout the fans for showing him love. At the same time, he cleared the air and once again showed his commitment to the franchise that drafted him:
“The City of Brotherly Love… They showed me love, but I’m a Trail Blazer. I’m ten toes in RIP City,” Lillard said, as quoted by Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated.
Lillard then talked about how he’s never asked for a trade, claiming that all those narratives are nothing but outside noise. Once again, the Weber State product doubled down on his love for Portland:
“I’ll answer that the way I answered it on media day,” Lillard told the media.“… and the same way I’ve been answering it. Everybody’s been saying what they think I’m thinking or what they think I’m gonna do. But I’m not leaving Portland. And to say that seems credible because of how the whole summer went. I was just trying to encourage the team to get better. ‘Let’s get better, let’s really go for it’. And people took that as “Everything they’re saying is true.”
“But it never came from my mouth. I want to be a part of Chauncey’s success, you know what I’m saying? I take pride in being part of his success as a coach. We developed a great relationship before he even became a coach, and even deeper than that. We sit, and talk every day. We talk, we text, on the phone, whatever. I want to be a part of his success,” Lillard concluded.
We’ve seen and heard all that before and everything can change in the blink of an eye in the NBA. The Sixers would definitely love to put an end to the Ben Simmons saga by trading him for Lillard but we just don’t see that happening as of now.
