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Damian Lillard fires back at Shannon Sharpe for criticizing his contract

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports
By Steve DelVecchio | Last updated 7/12/19

Damian Lillard signed a massive contract extension with the Portland Trail Blazers earlier this month, and Shannon Sharpe seems to think he should have given the team a discount. You can probably guess what Lillard thinks of Sharpe’s opinion.

Lillard’s supermax extension is worth nearly $200 million and includes a $54.3 million player option for the fourth season. It’s the richest contract in Blazers history, and Sharpe said on “The Undisputed” this week that the point guard is hurting the team by demanding such big money.

Shannon Sharpe say Damian lillard will probably be the richest player in NBA NBA history making $400million but he'll be quickly forgotten when he's career is finished because he'll never win a championship. pic.twitter.com/cwYTir6W05

— Philly till the death (@Chatnigga101) July 10, 2019

“He’s gonna be one of the richest players in NBA history, with zero titles,” Sharpe said. “Nobody remembers the guy who made a bunch of money playing sports — only if you won titles, Dame.”

Lillard doesn’t seem to care. For starters, he doesn’t appreciate Sharpe writing him off when he’s only 28. He also takes comfort knowing if he never wins a championship he can cry himself to sleep on his big bag of money.

1st of all I took less on my first max ext Do your homework. but whatever the easiest thing to have an opinion on is stuff that don’t involve you cuz you don’t have to deal with the consequences .And u dnt kno If I’ll win it lol… if I’m forgotten I’ll be a rich forgotten mf https://t.co/sR0VwHosgA

— Damian Lillard (@Dame_Lillard) July 12, 2019

There’s no Tom Brady situation in the NBA. Star players almost always sign max contract extensions when they’re eligible, especially since their teams can spend beyond the salary cap to make it happen. If the New England Patriots were able to give Brady top dollar and still build the same team around him by simply paying luxury tax, he probably would command much more. That simply isn’t how it works in the NFL.

You can certainly argue whether or not you think Lillard is worthy of a supermax deal, but criticizing him for accepting it seems a bit silly.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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