Damian Lillard, WTF are you doing man.
This guy, who I love, just keeps taking L’s every offseason with his little ‘I don’t run from the grind’ gimmick. Don’t get me wrong I am a complete loser in the eyes of Dame and I wholeheartedly accept that.
To Dame I’m a cornball writing about how he is a cornball which in essence makes both of us cornballs if you really think about it. Moving on though, Dame, Dame Time, Damian, please man just go somewhere else.
Dame has been playing around with the idea of leaving Portland for what seems like forever now. Given the state of the Trail Blazers organization in 2023 it makes so much sense for him, at 32-years-old, to finally leave the team and try to put a ring on his finger.
Lillard has been one of the most electric and consistent scorers in the league for the last what, seven or eight years? He averages 25 points per game in his career while shooting 44% from the field and 37% from three, won rookie of the year in 2012-13, is a seven time All-Star, is Portland’s all-time leading scorer, this guy has done it all.
Yet year after year the question of leaving Portland comes up and when you think he’s finally going to up and do it, he hits us with a classic ‘nah man I don’t run from the grind.’
Look, I love this mentality. I think it’s awesome Dame wants to win a championship with Portland. But the fact of the matter is Portland is in no way, shape or form ready to win a Championship anytime soon.
I think part of the reason they never made that next step is the fact that they had to compete with Golden State at their peak. The 2018-19 season saw the Trail Blazers make it to the Western Conference Finals to face Steph Curry and the Warriors (I was at game one in Oakland slight flex), but they were completely overpowered by that Golden State team. They ended up getting swept and to everyone’s surprise the Kawhi Leonard led Toronto Raptors went on to beat the Warriors.
Back to Dame though, the fact that the closest he’s ever gotten to an NBA finals is a 4-0 sweep to the Warriors in the conference finals is pretty indicative of just how far away the Blazers truly have been to competing for a title.
They never had a crazy stacked roster with Dame. They’ve had great pieces like the Bosnian beast Jusuf Nurkić, CJ McCollum, LeMarcus Aldridge, Jake Layman, you name it. But these guys were simply not enough to help take Dame to the NBA Finals. It’s that simple.
Dame has been screaming for help for years and the best the Trail Blazers can do is Matisse Thybulle? Jerami Grant? No disrespect to them, they’re solid role players but come on you’re telling me that surrounding Dame with these guys is going to get them over the line? Eat dirt.
Now Dame isn’t innocent here either as he’s advocating for these guys and wants them in Portland because while they may not be All-Stars or even All-NBA talents, they give him a “chance” at competing and apparently that’s all he wants. A chance at a title.
Everybody has a chance at the NBA title at the beginning of the season. Literally everybody. Hell the Pistons have a chance. It might not be a very good one, but it’s a chance nonetheless.
I know he’s publicly stated that he doesn’t want to be on a team stacked with superstars but that’s just how the NBA is nowadays. I know we all pointed fingers at Kevin Durant when he joined the Warriors in 2016 and said ‘oh KD you blow you can’t win without Steph’ blah blah blah. But KD did what he had to do to win a championship.
I see the vision now that KD had years ago and so does everybody else. The NBA is stacked with superteams and stars are constantly trying to figure out ways to play with stars in order to have a shot at winning. That’s just the way the league is now.
But Dame, Mr. I don’t run from the grind, has way too much pride and just has to keep up this narrative for whatever reason.
Look, I’m a Damian Lillard fan. He is one damn great basketball player and a hell of a person (I will not comment on his rapping ability). But he needs to let go of his pride and just go somewhere that he has an actual shot of winning.
I think that place is Miami.
Dame can actually take a page out of Miami’s book if he wants to win in Portland but without a coach like Erik Spoelstra, a dawg like Jimmy Butler and a supporting cast that actually turns up when it’s time to ball, he simply won’t win there.
If he were to join forces with Himmy, Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro and coach Spo, that Miami team becomes legitimate contenders next year. If they hypothetically made it to the finals again they could actually have a shot this time around.
I’m no trade expert so I’m not going to sit here and say ‘oh yeah if Miami sends this package that’ll work’ but I’m sure the two organizations can find a way to make this happen. Especially considering the fact that there have been reports of Dame having interest in Miami and saying he’s waiting to see what Portland does.
Even that is annoying to me. One day it’s ‘Dame interested in joining Miami.’
The next it’s ‘Dame tells agent he’s awaiting Trail Blazers plan for future.’’
Like come on JUST GO ALREADY. I genuinely think if he stays he just hurts the organization since they have great young pieces to build around in Scoot Henderson, Shaedon Sharpe, Anfernee Simons and even Cam Reddish.
If they can get some future picks and maybe a guy like Nikola Jovic from Miami or someone else I think they’ll be in a great spot for the future.
If Dame puts on his big boy pants and decides to make a decision that’s best for his future, I think he has a chance of solidifying his legacy by potentially becoming an NBA champion.
I know I’ve been sitting here speaking on another grown man’s future and his life choices but I just want to see this guy win man. Dame, that’s all I want for you.
I will end here with this: Dame, make the right choice. Go to Miami.
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Alex Goodlett (Getty Images)
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