According to Damian Lillard, he is not interested in the Blazers rebuilding at this stage of his career, and here is what he said via Twitter;
“That’s not what I’m interested in. That’s what the frustrating part of it is. Talking about what’s gonna happen next season. And us ‘building’. That’s not what I’m here to do especially at this stage of my career”.
According to BasketNews;
Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard is not interested in the rebuilding process, as he acknowledged during the media session.
The Blazers currently hold a 31-40 record and stand in 13th place in the Western Conference. It would be the second season in a row for the Blazers when the team doesn’t make the playoffs.
Prior to that, Portland made 8 playoffs appearances in a row, reaching the Western Conference Finals in the 2018-19 season.
“That’s not what I’m interested in,” Lillard said. “That’s what the frustrating part of it is. Talking about what’s gonna happen next season. And us ‘building’. That’s not what I’m here to do, especially at this stage of my career.”
Lillard also said it’s difficult for him to simply turn off and don’t put in any effort.
“As much as it is encouraging to promote that brand of basketball that you probably wouldn’t win going forward, and that’s what we have to learn to make it a habit. I mean, right now, I’m not out there looking, ‘Okay, we are making these plays, this is what we should start doing’.
It’s hard for me to remove myself from the present as far as that and be excited about what we are doing,” Lillard added.
Lillard averages 32.2 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 7.2 assists per game over 57 games this season.
Before the 2021-22 season, Lillard signed a 4-year $176.3 million contract. Last July, he already agreed to a two-year, $122 million contract extension that will tie him to the franchise through the 2026-27 season.
Dame just needs to ask for a trade because I don’t see any way the Blazers are coming out of the West before his contract is up. Too many good teams, and the young teams are coming.
Watch below Dame speak on not wanting to go through a rebuild.
Damian Lillard says he’s not interested in rebuilding
“That's not what I'm interested in. That's what the frustrating part of it is. Talking about what's gonna happen next season. And us 'building'. That's not what I'm here to do especially at this stage https://t.co/tVUNXcxMl5…
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) March 21, 2023