Lillard would rather 'build up' Blazers than join super team
If Damian Lillard one day captures an NBA championship, he hopes its with the Portland Trail Blazers after building up a title contender with him at the forefront.
The 26-year-old point guard has already gone on record to say there's no chance he'd return home to join the Golden State Warriors, much like Kevin Durant did over the summer when he left the Oklahoma City Thunder to align with the team that eliminated him from last season's playoffs.
Lillard - who feels he has too much pride to join a super team - told Jim Rome during a recent radio broadcast that his previous comments weren't meant to be a shot at Durant, although he stands by the fact that he'd go about becoming a champion in a far different manner.
"What I was saying was about myself, it wasn’t about anybody else," Lillard said. "I was saying joining other big-time players and joining a team like Golden State is that something I couldn’t see myself doing. We play this game to win and if that’s what somebody is willing to do to win and if that’s what they want to go and do then that’s fine. It’s not against the rules, we can’t be mad at anybody for joining whatever team they want to join, but what I was saying was I’d rather do it with the team I have. I’d rather build it up to being a championship team."
Lillard is fully committed to the Trail Blazers, which he demonstrated last summer when he signed a five-year, $120-million extension to remain with the organization long term.
The team made huge strides in 2015-16 despite the loss of several starters and key rotation players, finishing with a 44-38 record (fifth) and advancing to the Western Conference semifinals against the Warriors.
- with h/t to NBC Sports