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Damien lillard denied a recent report On Friday, he was to demand a trade of the Portland Trail Blazers. “This is not true,” said Lillard, while adding that he expects to be in a Blazers uniform next season. However, he made the comments saying he had not made a firm decision about his future. Lillard, who just turned 31, signed a contract extension with the Blazers in 2019 and is under contract for the 2023-24 season.
“I woke up with these reports,” said Lillard after a training session with Team USA in Las Vegas. “You know a lot of people who contact me. But that’s not true. I’ll start off by saying it’s not true. I said the last time I spoke to you that a lot is being said and is not from me. Firstly, it is not true. And secondly, I will also say that I have not made any firm decisions on what my future will be. So there really is no need for anyone. someone else is speaking for me or reporting this or reporting that. ”
The report in question was from True Hoop’s Henry Abbott, and it suggested that Lillard would request a move in the next few days. But while Lillard has denied the report, he’s made it clear that he believes the Blazers need to improve – from top to bottom.
“I think that’s where we’re at as a team where all of us, not just me, not just my teammates, not just our new coaching staff, the front office, everyone in this organization. must look in the mirror because we constantly run out, ”said Lillard in an interview with Chris Haynes of Yahoo. “We have to look at ourselves in the mirror and say I have to be better because whatever we do isn’t working and it doesn’t give us the chance to compete at the level we want to compete at.”
Lillard was particularly upset that the Blazers couldn’t pass the shorthanded Denver Nuggets in the first round of the playoffs this season.
“Our environment has always been great. We don’t lose a lot, but we were knocked out by a shorthanded Denver team that I thought we should have beaten,” said Lillard. “I just got away really disappointed. I was like, ‘Dude, this just isn’t going to work. “We don’t win the championship, but we have a strong organization. We’re not a franchise that loses every year and gets divided. We have positive seasons, we don’t end with a championship.”
It looks like a major crisis in Portland has been averted – for now. By denying that he plans to request an exchange, Lillard has shown that his relationship with the organization is not irreparable. But, like any star player in his prime, he wants to see the team around him improve. If the team is unable to make progress towards this improvement, Lillard’s stance on a trade may change.
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