This offseason marked the end of Damian Lillard’s 11-year partnership with the Portland Trail Blazers, as he expressed the desire to be traded to the Heat, eventually landing with the Bucks after unsuccessful negotiations.
Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups envisions a reconnection between Lillard and his former team over time.
“Sooner or later, talks will be had,” he told Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports. “Emotion will be down and that will heal itself. I really believe that.
“At the end of the day, what Dame did for the organization has never been done before. He’s gonna go down as the greatest. And also what this organization did for Dame was incredible. They had an incredible two-way relationship for the entire time.”
Despite the emotions involved, Billups believes the healing process will begin, acknowledging the historic impact Lillard had on the franchise, becoming the all-time leader in scoring and points per game, and second in assists.
