Damian Lillard Almost Certainly Isn't Going Anywhere—For Now
Damian Lillard still hasn't committed to the Trail Blazers publicly for next season, let alone the foreseeable future. The closest he came was in mid-July, when Lillard answered affirmatively to being asked if he "expects" to be in Portland for the 2021-22 season.
But that was before free agency's heyday came and went without the Blazers meeting his mandate for roster upgrades, and before Lillard got a taste of the ultimate team success with USA Basketball at the Tokyo Olympics.
He didn't exactly seem thrilled about Portland missing out on its top targets on the open market, setting for Cody Zeller, Tony Snell and Ben McLemore on minimum contracts. Lillard made no secret of his affinity for playing with the league's best during Team's USA's run to gold, either.
Still, all recent momentum has indicated the greatest player in Blazers history plans to play at least one more season in Rip City. Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports noted in early August that Lillard—despite his June proclamation that a coaching change wouldn't be enough to vault Portland to championship contention—wants to give Chauncey Billups a chance on the sidelines, and Norman Powell has reiterated multiple times that he only re-signed with the Blazers after being assured of Lillard's presence by the man himself.
But unsourced reporting and second-party retellings can only do so much to quell the concerns of Portland fans about Lillard's status. Good thing he keeps leaving hints not-so-subtle hints about his immediate future, then.
On Thursday, Lillard went viral when he responded to a tweet about the Los Angeles Lakers trading for him before tipoff of next season.
Rip City's collective exhale was even louder a couple hours later.
An avid boxing fan, Lillard quipped to the league on Twitter that he hopes "we"—the Blazers, ostensibly—play the Atlanta Hawks on October 24 next season he could attend a junior lightweight title fight at State Farm Arena one day prior.
Lillard may not ever come out and pointedly profess his desire to play in Portland for at least one more season. Much of the leverage he's established during the one of the most controversial, consequential offseasons in franchise history would vanish if he suddenly gave the front office that sense of security.
But the tea leaves are falling everywhere, and each one suggests Lillard has no plans to make good on his threat of forcing his way from the Blazers anytime soon, Neil Olshey's comfort with the status quo notwithstanding.
What does that mean for his long-term future? Nothing, in all likelihood. Anything short of a Western Conference Finals appearance for Portland next season seems like it wouldn't be enough for Lillard to stick around.
But the closer we get to 2021-22, all signs point to that worse potentially coming to worst—barring an abrupt change of heart from Lillard—next summer at the earliest.