Damian Lillard: NBA play-in tournament 'would be perfect'

Damian Lillard made headlines earlier this week when he said he would sit out if the Portland Trail Blazers were forced to play meaningless games to finish out the NBA season. Now, he has voiced his support for a proposed play-in tournament that would allow teams on the fringes of the playoffs to compete for the final spots.

"I feel like a play-in tournament would be perfect, just because we actually were in striking distance and also had enough games to get in the playoffs," Lillard said on ESPN's "Jalen & Jacoby." "But to that point, if they did decide that we're just gonna go straight to the playoffs, obviously, we would all be disappointed... We haven't performed to be in that top eight. So if that's the case, then fine. But if we're gonna just come back to play games, I feel like that'd be harder on everybody else."

According to Zach Lowe and Adrian Wojnarowski, the play-in tournament is one of the few plans the NBA is considering for its planned return. However, there is also a chance that teams finish out a shortened version of the regular season and the standard playoffs begin. Lillard previously voiced his displeasure at this prospect but says that he feels his comments were taken too seriously.

"I mean, I felt like the way the story was written, it was taken out of context because it was a casual conversation," Lillard said Wednesday. "And it was like, 'expletive this, expletive that,' but it wasn't a demonstrative statement.

Lillard says that ultimately, he just wants to feel like he is playing for a purpose if he returns to the court.

"... Obviously, as players, we want to play, but we want to play for something -- especially if we're in position to play for that in the first place."