Miami Heat Free Agent Target Damian Lillard Explains How Winning A Title Would Impact His Legacy

Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard has made it clear he wants to win a championship regardless of where he plays this season.

The Miami Heat were among the teams interested in trading for Lillard this offseason but those chances diminished once he said he was moving forward with the Trail Blazers. Still, there's time for change because a lot could happen between now and July 1.

Lillard recently spoke with HoopsHype about the importance of winning a title.

"I think it’s very important when you talk about how other people view me," Lillard said. "Of course, people are going to say, “You don’t have a ring.” You see how people talk to Charles Barkley, and he’s Charles Barkley. He was a great player. Of course it’s at the top of the list for me to win a championship. I don’t train and come into seasons thinking about anything more than wanting to win it this year. Personally, I know my body of work speaks for itself. I haven’t won a championship, but I’ve won a lot of games. I’ve had three seasons in my entire career where I wasn’t a winner out of 11 seasons."

Lillard would provide the Heat a reliable scorer, removing some of the pressure off Jimmy Butler. Time will tell if the Heat can make a play for him.

" A championship would mean a lot to me, but in my personal opinion, if I don’t win it, it’s not the end all, be all to me," Lillard said. "I wouldn’t be happy with it, but I think when you talk about other people’s perception, I think it’s extremely important to my legacy. It’s extremely important to me, but my opinion of me not winning wouldn’t be the same as others."

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