The past couple of years haven’t been good for the Blazers’ aspirations for a deep playoff run. However, none of that has hampered the brand value of Damian Lillard who first got his All-Star selection, then shined at the Olympics, and then bagged a place in the NBA’s greatest 75 players. 

But his individual success has failed to resonate with his team’s. As a result, the entire off-season saw media houses and NBA pundits making guesses around Dame’s new destination. Well, the man has now put all such claims to sleep.

Damian Lillard is here to stay with the Portland Trail Blazers

In the same summer when Dame released his music videos with artists like BLXST and  Lil Wayne, he also saw rumors around his name. Many people saw him moving to one of the franchises in the Knicks, the Pelicans, the Celtics, the Sixers, or the Warriors. 

However, a recent comment from Damian Lillard has put a full stop on all of those fantasies. As the 31-YO clarified his stance to ESPN’s Mallika Andrews, “Specifically since the end of last season, it’s been a lot of people saying they heard this… Dame said this. And I just wanted it to be clear.” 

Well, Dame is made up of the same character as Kobe Bryant, who will not let a rough phase force him out of his beloved franchise. As he added, “It’s not one of those situations where I’m waiting for some adversity to hit or I’m waiting for us to struggle, where I’m gonna be like, alright that’s it. I’m leaving. It’s not that type of situation. That’s just not who I am.” 

Read more: Damian Lillard Pick His Side in the GOAT Debate While Recreating Michael Jordan’s ‘Last Shot’

How is Dame Dolla looking in the 2021-22 season?

Everyone remembers Damian Lillard’s 55-point double-double performance against the Nuggets during Game 5. But they ended up losing that series and that form continued even in the preseason 2021-22. The Blazers went 0-5 and seemed poor in front of other WC teams, espcially the Suns, whom they’ll next meet.

In fact, in four of these games that Dame played, the star could manage just 51 points in total. So he’s certainly not at his top form and hence it becomes important for his stability of mind to stop distractions by putting away the hollow trade rumors.

That’s what the man intended when he expressed, “I have also developed a good relationship with Chauncey. You know, building on the relationship we had before he became coach… I said because we made some changes… coming behind our performance from the playoffs, it was just important to me that we make it clear that our steps are truly towards becoming a championship team. That doesn’t mean it is not going to happen today…”

Dame will be an unrestricted free agent in 2025 and he’d want to win a ring under the coachmanship of Chauncey Billups. Do you see this happening? Help us know in the comments below.

Watch this story: Damian Lillard’s Record-Breaking ASG 2021 Performance