Damian Lillard Doesn't Seem Thrilled With Blazers Free Agency Moves
The crux of Damian Lillard's focus is surely on doing everything he can to help Team USA win a fourth straight gold medal, an especially safe assumption considering his relative struggles ahead of Friday's Olympic final against France. But just because Lillard's mind is primarily elsewhere doesn't mean he's ignored the Trail Blazers' moves in free agency.
Shame, too, as Portland's disgruntled franchise player doesn't seem especially pleased with his incumbent team's current trajectory.
Asked his appraisal of the Blazers signing Cody Zeller, Ben McLemore and Tony Snell—to date, the team's only outside additions—to minimum contracts, a diplomatic Lillard did his best to chalk Portland's dealings up to the realities of free agency.
"Going into free agency and things like this you never know what's gonna happen. You never know where guys are gonna end up and why they go there. You just try to have conversations and convince guys to be a part of our team," Lillard said.
"Obviously, this go-around, we wasn’t able to go out there and just get some of the guys we would’ve liked. You go down the list, and you go through the guys that you like that are out there that haven't committed to another team or that was a part of your plans in free agency, and you get the ones that want to be part of what you're doing. I think that's what we did."
Bringing in Zeller, a surefire two-way rotation center when healthy, on the minimum is an objective win for the Blazers. There was an expectation that Snell would command more than that on the open market, too. Mclemore was always destined to get the minimum, but is at least a qualified deep reserve.
Portland's moves on the margins—re-signing Norman Powell included—have been a collective success. No one is suggesting otherwise. The issue with the Blazers' offseason approach is that Lillard's made abundantly clear anything less than a revamped, title-worthy supporting cast around him won't be enough for him to recommit to Portland long-term.
Lillard, it bears stressing, is apparently still a long way from making good on his implicit threat of a trade request. Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports, the most direct line in media to Lillard, reported on Wednesday that he "expects" Lillard to play for the Blazers in 2021-22 despite Neil Olshey's underwhelming offseason so far.
Haynes also reported that Portland, still armed with the full taxpayer's mid-level exception, had eyes for Paul Millsap and Kelly Oubre. The Blazers, apparently, weren't done in free agency.
Oubre has since inked a deal with the Charlotte Hornets worth double the maximum amount Portland could've offered him, hardly a surprise considering he at one point sought a $20 million salary. Millsap is still available, though his prospective signing could be affected by the Blazers' reluctance to exceed the luxury tax.
Portland's lack of financial flexibility this summer is a problem, obviously, but also one of Olshey's making. Quality veterans across the league have taken paycuts to chase a championship as role players with top-tier contenders, too.
Absent the spending capital to beat the market and telegraphing their plan to run it back next season despite Lillard's demands otherwise, one question is worth asking: Why would the Blazers have been an attractive destination for any free agent this offseason?
Playing with Lillard and experiencing the revered locker-room culture he's fostered hasn't been enough to draw free agents to Portland. The hiring of Chauncey Billups, beloved by players across the league, hasn't, either. No free agent was going to sign with the Blazers at a discount just because of his relationship with Olshey.
The reality is that Portland's situation just isn't appealing for players on the move—and not because the Pacific Northwest lacks the glitz and nightlife of Southern California. Maybe that dynamic really will prevent the Blazers from seriously going after Ben Simmons.
No doubt a more significant detriment to Portland's team-building efforts this summer, though, has been the organizational crossroads at which Olshey feels comfortable stopping.
The fallout from Lillard's admitted dissatisfaction with the Blazers is basketball's biggest story. Folding his arms and proceeding as normal with the hope Portland could exist outside that drama while courting free agents was always mind-numbingly—or in a pessimist's world, conveniently—naive of Olshey.
Don't be surprised if it eventually hastens Lillard's departure.
[h/t Nick Krupke, KPTV]