Damian Lillard may want to be traded by the Portland Trail Blazers, but if that meant going to the Golden State Warriors, he wouldn't have done so.
The All-Star guard said he'd rather lose every year than join the dynasty the Warriors have already built.
"I respect what they've done in the last eight or nine years, and obviously, I'm from there. This is home. But I can't be a part of it," Lillard said on The Way It Is, "and they've won four championships. Do I look like I'm going to do that?" ... It doesn't make sense at all. I would never do anything like that. I lost every year until I left. ”
Given Lillard's well-known affair with the Miami Heat, it's hard to find any meaning in his words.
Since 2020, the Heat have reached the NBA Finals twice; Miami has missed the playoffs only four times in the last 20 years. In basketball in general, there is probably no more consistent or well-functioning team than the Heat.
While one might point out that the Heat lost those two Finals chances and that the Warriors have won four championships since the arrival of Stephen Curry, it's hard to think outside the loop and say you'll never join a superteam and work behind the scenes to join another team that just made it to the Finals.
When it comes to Durant, Lillard said he won't have jumped from Oklahoma City to the Golden State Warriors in 2016.
"If I were in his position, I personally wouldn't do it," Lillard said. "I feel like they lost to that team. I think they won a championship before he came. I won't do that. ”
Logically, it's reasonable to wonder if what Lillard did is more worthy of criticism than Durant's actions. Durant is a free agent. He completed his contract in Oklahoma City. In contrast, Lillard signed a two-year contract extension in July 2022 and requested a trade in less than a year.
Lillard has publicly stated for years that he would never ask for a trade and has always wanted to stay in Portland, and Lillard has struggled to find consistent information since the trade request was made in July.
Given the trajectory of the Blazers roster, it's hard to blame Lillard's request, but maybe it's time to give up publicly claiming to be different from the superstars of the past who jumped ship for championships.