In the NBA, the future of its superstars is always a topic. The futures of players such as Anthony Davis, Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving have been discussed all season. Anthony Davis requested a trade from the New Orleans Pelicans and nearly joined the Los Angeles Lakers. Big-name players are putting themselves in positions to win. In some cases, this means changing teams.
While players are willing to change teams, Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard has a different perspective. Lillard wants to win a championship, but with the Blazers. Recently, Lillard sat down with Chris Haynes on Yahoo Sports’ Posted Up. Lillard discussed players discussing trades. He said that he is not willing to sell himself out for a championship.
"I'm not willing to sell myself out for (championships)"@Dame_Lillard on why he hasn't left Portland.
The @Trailblazers All-Star joined @ChrisBHaynes on the latest episode of Posted Up… You DO NOT want to miss this!
➡️https://t.co/Kq6uHbx3hS pic.twitter.com/MxHIqF3vmp
— Yahoo Sports NBA (@YahooSportsNBA) February 19, 2019
When talking about trades, Lillard said that it affects other people.
“It will affect a lot of other people,” Lillard said. “Like I’m saying, I do want to win a championship but there’s other stuff that means more to me. It’s almost like I’m not willing to sell myself out for that instead of impacting this.”
He also said that he wants to win a championship but also about his legacy being so much more valuable.
“I want to win a championship, I compete to win a championship, but I’ve learned that it’s about so many other things. I think a lot of people tell you just because you go out and win a championship. And then they look back and they’re like ‘man, this happened because of that, this happened because of that.’ When my career is over and I know the relationships that I’m gonna have, I’m going to know the people who knew I was solid with them … That I did it the right way.”
In 2012, the Portland Trail Blazers Lillard. He was the sixth pick of that year’s draft. Since then, the Blazers have made the playoffs five teams in the past few seasons. Lillard is one of the most skilled point guards in the NBA. The backcourt of Lillard and C.J McCollum has helped the Blazers become a contender in the West.
The Blazers are still a ways from a championship, but with a committed Lillard, they will keep progressing towards a championship.
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