Damian Lillard’s growing discontent with the Portland Trail Blazers has been one of the biggest stories in the NBA over the past year.
Between his frustration with how the coaching search went and subsequent call-out of the team’s "failed" free-agency recruitment, Lillard has been very open with his annoyance.
Despite the issues, he went as far as to only issue Portland an ultimatum. He never actually demanded a trade, despite having one clear team in mind that he would’ve loved to land with.
Which begs the question: Why hasn’t Lillard officially insisted on being dealt? This week, an answer emerged, according to Kyle Neubeck of Philly Voice:
“There are many who believed then and continue to insist now that Damian Lillard was about ready to ask out; a source with knowledge of the situation believes Lillard is held back by both his loyalty to Portland and an unwillingness to go back on things he’s already said about sticking things out.
“He ultimately decided to give this another go, and Lillard has been provided roster upgrades and had a big voice in the coaching search. He may still ask out down the road, but only time will tell how long this honeymoon lasts.”
The Philadelphia 76ers are desperately holding out hope that they can trade Ben Simmons for Lillard, but at the moment, that deal doesn’t seem like it’s going to happen.
For now, Lillard wants to stay loyal to Portland. How long will that last?
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