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Lillard: Stars owe teammates, fans truth about leaving

R. Widner / National Basketball Association / Getty

Honesty is the best policy.

Amid perhaps the most eventful NBA offseason in history, there remains two All-Stars who could very well be on the move: New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony and Cleveland Cavaliers point guard Kyrie Irving, who have both reportedly informed their clubs they want out.

Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard has no problem with player movement - in fact, he encourages it when it benefits his own team - but he does think players owe it to their teammates and fans to be upfront about their intentions and their reasons for leaving.

"You owe your teammates first because those are the guys that you spend the most time around that you have relationships with, more so than anybody else," the 27-year-old point guard said on CBS Sports Radio's "Reiter Than You" on Monday.

"And also the fans because they are part of your team. They're the people that come and cheer for you and support you as much as anybody. So I think they're the two groups of people that you owe the truth. They deserve to know the truth in where you stand and what your plans are."

Related: Lillard envies Irving's Finals trips, partnership with LeBron

Like most people, Lillard has watched from afar as stars like Kevin Durant and Gordon Hayward left their squads in free agency. The two-time All-Star also experienced it firsthand when LaMarcus Aldridge, his co-star for three seasons, joined the San Antonio Spurs two years ago.

Dame has shown more loyalty than that, having signed a five-year extension that same summer, and continues to assuage the fears of the small-market team's fans who are concerned its best player will follow in Aldridge's footsteps.

"I think I play for a great organization, I play for a great coaching staff, myself and my family love living in Portland, I'm close to my hometown, I play in the playoffs every year," Lillard explained.

"Everything that comes my way is because of my work that I do on the court and because of the kind of person that I was raised to be and the kind of person that I am. So I don't feel like there's anything that I'm missing out on or anything that I can't accomplish where I am now."

Related: Lillard, McCollum still believe Melo could join Trail Blazers

The former rookie of the year notched a career-high 27 points on 44.4 percent shooting from the field to go along with 5.9 dimes and 4.9 rebounds per game in 2016-17. He's publicly tried to recruit other stars in hopes of improving Portland's roster, including Paul George, Anthony Davis, and Melo.

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