Winners, losers of Damian Lillard’s return to Portland Trail Blazers
A few minutes from the shocking exit of Damian Lillard by the Milwaukee Bucks this summer, speculation began on a landing point. The first names to emerge were places where he had expressed his interest previously – Portland and Miami – but not long after Golden State, Boston and Los Angeles Lakers emerged as teams with interest. This was expected to be a long and slow process, during which Lillard would have spent time recovering from his torn Achilles and considering his options.
It didn’t take much: Lillard is returning to Portland with a three -year contract of $ 42 million.
This begins with him who earns $ 14 million from Portland this season, in addition to 54.1 million dollars that Milwaukee has purchased it. They are $ 68 million this season, which will miss him more – and most likely everything – to recover.
We break down the winners and losers from this move – and it is practically all the winners.
Winner: Fan of Trail Blazers/Fan of Basketball
This is an emotionally satisfactory result.
Lillard could have spent this season in the clothing, looking at how the League took place, then signed where he thought he had the best chances of chasing a ring. Or, he could have waited for and start a war of offers next summer to see who would pay him more money and chased the Almighty Dollar.
Instead, he chose to follow his heart – he did not wait and chose the city he loves and that his family calls home, the franchise where he will go down as the greatest player in his story (all due respect for Bill Walton and Clyde Drexler). This is good for sport.
It was a good summer for the fans of the blazers. The franchise is sold, a move long awaited. Adam Silver told Las Vegas this week that the League prefers not to see the team transfer the cities (an polite way of saying that they don’t go anywhere) and new owners will have to build a new arena. They enrolled Yang Hansen, who could or not go out, but is contagious to look at.
And now Damian Lillard is returning home.
Winner: Damian Lillard
When Damian Lillard was mistaken for the first time with Milwaukee, he was enthusiastic – he managed to play with Giannis Antetokounmpo on a contender. This was an opportunity for him to cement his inheritance with a ring.
It turns out that the grass is no longer getting green on the other side. Lillard learned that in the hardest way and fought to adapt to life away from his family, who remained in Portland.
Milwaukee that cuts Lillard Lose means that he had total control of whatever happened later: he could go where he wanted, when he wanted, and for all the money he could enter the trial. He had to fix the priorities.
Portland was the priority. Lillard gets what he wants and, essentially the medium -level exception, also for the year in which he is giving up. This is a fair price.
Winner: the young stars of Portland
Mentoring Young Players matters. As talent as it could be someone who enters the championship, having a professional organization and a veteran presence in the changing rooms that shows them how to be a NBA player matters.
Scoot Henderson, Toumani Camara, Donovan Clingan, Shaedon Sharpe, Yang Hansen and the rest of the young blazers now have Damian Lillard and Jrue Holiday in the high-level and consummate professional changing rooms.
This is good for long -term Portland only.
Losers: teams that hit Lillard
These teams have lost, but it is not fair to call them losers: they would never win this prize competition.
However, Miami Heat had flirted with Lillard who returned to his trade in Portland, would have been suitable for next season. According to reports, Boston showed interest, with Jayson Tatum who managed the recruitment itself. It is not difficult to imagine Tatum’s tone: “We know what it takes to get a ring, with your filming and your director, when we recharge in a year you can get your ring”.
According to reports, the Warriors were interested and a back with Stephen Curry and Damian Lillard would be fearsome. According to reports, the Lakers showed interest and Lillard, as a shooter and creator of secondary shots alongside Luka Doncic in a year, would have been an interesting addition (and Doncic and Lillard would have formed the most clutch team in the history of the League).
All those teams had good cases to make. But Portland … there is no place like the house.