Damian Lillard continues to put such pressure on the side of the Portland Trail Blazers, urging the franchise to make significant moves as they head on to the offseason.
Guesting on the Stephen A’s World in the middle of the Chicago Bulls-Toronto Raptors Play-In matchup, Lillard stated that should the Blazers fail to make progress, he will likely consider his future with the franchise.
“I ain’t gonna say I’m putting them on the clock,” said Lillard. “I’m just saying if those things can’t be done, we can’t do something significant like that, then we won’t have a chance to compete on that level. Not only I will have a decision to make but I think the organization will, too, because, at that point, it’s like are you going to go young or are we going to get something done. …”
“They believe that I deserve that opportunity [to compete] and I’m trusting that we’re going to be committed and diligent about doing all of those things this offseason.”
Lillard pulled up the best season of his career this 2022-23, averaging a career-best 32.2 points to go with 7.3 assists and 4.8 boards. He also shot 46.3 percent from the floor and drained 37.1 percent of his attempts from deep.
Amid these solid numbers, Lillard failed to make it to the postseason cut with the Blazers for the second-straight year. He has been with the club since 2012 and only experienced this difficult playoff disappearance since his rookie year.
As such, the star point man believes that the upcoming offseason will serve as a highly significant test for him and the franchise that will determine their direction in the future.
“This is our most important offseason since I’ve been here,” Lillard said. “Just for us, for both – myself and the organization.”
