Damian Lillard has been loyal to the Portland Trail Blazers for 11 seasons. But Dame is yet to even reach the NBA Finals while donning the Trail Blazers' jersey.
Evidently, Lillard's future with the franchise has been a huge topic of discussion for the media heading into the offseason. On a recent episode of ESPN's 'First Take,' NBA analyst Stephen A. Smith recently begged Lillard to leave the Trail Blazers this summer.
"I have been begging Damian Lillard to get the hell out of Portland," Smith said. "You're not winning there. You're not getting any free agents to come there. It's just not going to happen. Who doesn't love the thought of playing with Damian Lillard? Kevin Durant would have loved to play with Damian Lillard. There's a whole bunch of people that would have loved to play with Damian Lillard."
Smith continued while declaring the issue is not Lillard, but Portland.
"What's the issue? He's in Portland!" He added. "... You're not getting anybody to come to Portland, so Damian Lillard. you ain't going anywhere!"
He concluded: "This is a superstar. it's a crying damn shame that he is in Portland, Oregon. the bottom line is he needs to get the hell out of there."
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Damian Lillard finished the 2022-23 NBA season with 32.2 PPG, 4.8 RPG, and 7.3 APG. Despite these numbers, the Trail Blazers missed the play-in tournament and ended up as the 13th seed in the Western Conference.
His former teammate CJ McCollum believes this summer is the last chance that the Trail Blazers will get to form a title-contending roster around Dame. They have the third overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, and if they use it wisely, they can get a second star to play alongside the 32-year-old.
If the organization fails to do so, McCollum believes, there's a very real chance that Lillard will leave the team.
Damian Lillard is unarguably one of the most loyal players in the NBA right now. He has stuck with the Trail Blazers for 11 years, after all.
But the only notable achievement that Dame has had during his stint with the team is reaching the 2019 Western Conference Finals. The Trail Blazers were swept by the Golden State Warriors in the series.
In a recent episode of 'The Last Stand' podcast, Lillard finally hinted at having a 'separate conversation' with the organization if they fail to construct a winning team around him.
"If we can't do that, and I have said this for months now, then it's a separate conversation we would have to have," Lillard said. "We've got to let things take their course and see where it lands and go from there, but it's no guarantee that I'd play in June regardless of the situation."
If Lillard demands a trade, it could shake up the balance in the NBA. Dame recently admitted that he'd like to be traded to the Miami Heat, but only if the organization fails to win the 2023 NBA title.
Where will Dame play? That's one of the biggest questions heading into the offseason in a few weeks.
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