The Damian Lillard saga was one of the most intriguing topics during theNBA offseason. The 31-year-old was heavily linked with a move away from the Portland Trail Blazers as he was understoodto be wanting a trade.
Dame was reportedly unhappy with the teamās failures to push for the championship and considered joining another team to chase the ring.However, Lillard ultimatelystayed at the only franchise he hasplayed for.
Although that may havesent a strong message to those who wantedhim to leave, there are still people who expect him to want out if the team has a weak start to the new season. But Lillard let them knew heās not going anywhere anytime soon.
Damian Lillard makes firm commitment to Portland regardless of start to 2021-22 NBA season
For a long time in the summer it seemed inevitable that Lillard would be leavingPortland after nine years. But this saga ended up having a huge twist as the point guard decided to give it another shot with the franchise that drafted him in 2012.
Still, that didnāt seem enough to put trade rumors to rest. Thatās why Lillard made clear he wonāt be leaving Portland regardless of how the new-looked team begins theseason.
āIām not leaving Portlandā¦ Adversity is going to hit, thereās going to be tough times. So if it starts off rocky or if it starts out as a struggle I wonāt be happy about it, nobody would. But Iām not going to jump ship and bail out when that happens,āLillard said, as quoted byCasey Holdahl.
Actions speak louder than words, and Dame didnāt have to say anything to show his commitment with Portland, it was his decision to stay that said everything by itself. But sometimes itās hard to shut down the rumors, so he made clear ā again ā that heās not moving anywhere, in case some people still doubted it.
