Damian Lillard of the Portland Trail Blazers has always preached loyalty. He says it comes from his upbringing, and he has been proud and prideful about each location that he has ever made home.
Damian Lillard Should Leave Portland, Stephen A Smith Says
“I have been begging Damian Lillard to get the hell out of Portland. You’re not winning there, you’re not gonna get any free agents to come there. It’s just not gonna happen… This is a superstar… He deserves to be in a big market.”
—Stephen A. Smithpic.twitter.com/HL3v9sIRdk https://t.co/KLAX7cwS4E
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) June 7, 2023
But that type of loyalty can be something of a fault in professional sports. The major leagues are a business, with teams and franchises doing what is best for the on-court/on-field product at all times without giving much care to the human element.
This is what has made Lillard’s loyalty to Portland so special. During a time when his peers were forming big threes and superteams across the league, Lillard stayed true to the team that drafted him. He stayed committed to the Blazers year after year, even when the team failed to put the necessary pieces around him in order to be successful.
ESPN’s Stephen A Smith expressed his thoughts on the situation during First Take on Wednesday:
“I get to a point where I’m so sad when I see him at times…I love him to death, I think he’s a phenomenal player…I want him out of Portland so bad.”
The comments were made by Smith while Lillard’s former teammate was in the studio. CJ McCollum has been an off-season regular on the set of First Take, and played alongside Lillard in Portland for years. The two remain friends.
Smith went into far more detail later on in the show. He shared that he had told Damian Lillard and McCollum years ago that they needed to leave the Trail Blazers, as there were no free agents coming to play in Portland.
“I have been begging Damian Lillard to get the hell out of Portland. You’re not winning there, you’re not gonna get any free agents to come there. It’s just not gonna happen…This is a super star…He deserves to be in a big market.”
The coming off-season could be one of change for the Trail Blazers. They finished with fewer than 35 wins for the third time in 4 years, but may have one of the most valuable pieces of the summer in the third overall pick in the upcoming draft.
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