Damian Lillard's Season May Be Ending Early
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There are not many better players in the NBA right now than Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard and while he missed some games earlier in the season, Lillard has had himself a career-year.
He's averaged a career-high 32.2 points per game, he's shot a career-best 46.3 percent from the floor, he's recorded 15 games with at least 40 points, the most in the NBA this season, and Lillard is likely on his way to being named All-NBA First Team for just the second time in his career.
However, the Trail Blazers continue to be a team searching for answers, as the 2022-23 season has been yet another letdown.
Following a loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday night, Portland is now nine game below .500 at 31-40 with just 11 games remaining on their schedule. Now 3.5 games back of the 10-seed in the Western Conference, time is running out for the Trail Blazers yet again.
So what does this mean for Damian Lillard and his future?
Of course, there is always the possibility that Lillard requests a trade out of Portland, as many will tend to create these false narratives yet again in the offseason, but what Lillard really wants is to remain with the Blazers and continue building this organization into something special.
That will have to wait until at least next season though, as Damian Lillard's season may be coming to an end with the Blazers slipping out of the playoff picture.
"I just love to play. I'm just not ready to just not play, I think that's what it comes down to," Lillard said following Sunday's loss in regards to sitting out games. "You look at what other teams are doing with creating separation and we are on a losing streak. We pretty much fallen out of the race for the 10th spot unless we go out there and win every game.
"Right now, I'm just not ready to not play. Last season I missed 52 games or something like that, so I love to play, I love the competition and I haven't been ready to give that up. But it does come a point in time when do you stop putting your competitive nature out front."
Currently on a six-game losing skid, the Blazers have dug themselves a hole that they may not be able to get out of. Just getting back to the 10-seed would be a challenge at this point in the year, especially since ten of their final eleven games are against teams fighting for playoff positioning.
It is certainly possible that Lillard could wind up sitting out the last few games of Portland's season, especially if they are eliminated from playoff contention. The team will not want to risk injury with him, especially since the star guard has been dealing with a lingering calf issue all season long.
Entering the offseason, Damian Lillard will have two years left on his contract and all indications right now point towards him remaining loyal to the Trail Blazers.
What the team does in free agency and trade talks to try and build this team into a contending threat around Lillard though remains a mystery.
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