Damian Lillard stated Friday that he has not asked for a trade, but wants the Portland Trail Blazers more urgently to pursue a championship.
He said that he expected to be with the Blazers next year, but that he felt it needed to be with more talent.
Lillard spoke highly of Portland and its great fans, while also pointing out the pride in being a perennial playoff team.
Lillard stated that there are many positives. “But I think we have reached a point where it’s OK, but not enough. Is it really what we want? We have to be able to prove that this is what we want. It’s time to take action to achieve that goal.
Lillard is visiting Las Vegas to meet the U.S. Olympic Team. Lillard awoke Friday to receive a report from Truehoop.com. The report cited a close friend who said that he was planning to trade the following days.
“No. Billups stated that it is not true. “Secondly, I would also add that I have not made any decision about my future.”
Lillard stated that he wanted to win the Portland championship, where he had spent his entire career. However, his belief in this possibility seems to be diminishing.
Lillard stated, “I want it all in a Trail Blazers outfit but we all need to be making strides towards that.”
They fell 4-2 to Denver’s team in the first round. Jamal Murray was out of action and they were far from winning this season. The Blazers replaced Terry Stotts by Chauncey Billups, their first-ever head coach.
Lillard stated that he was aware of teams that changed coaches without altering their personnel, and that that was acceptable.
Lillard stated that Chauncey could change the team’s fortunes and help them move in the right direction. But if you take a look at the team going into next season, it’s hard to see how you could say, “All right, this team is champion, you just need another coach,” when we lost in round one to a hurt team. So those are my thoughts.
Lillard had planned to meet Billups and Neil Olshey in Las Vegas. However, Lillard said that the Blazers staff would visit him during training camp.
He wants to see change when he returns to the fall.
Lillard stated, “I believe the best way to express it is just to be more urgent.” “Be more urgent about our next steps and how we move forward.”