Damian Lilliard calls this the ‘most important offseason’ in his 11 season with the Trail Blazers, regarding his future with the franchise

The Portland Trail Blazers have missed the playoffs for the second straight season in a row. Their superstar PG Damian Lillard has been very vocal about his feelings on the direction of the franchise and he wants some answers. He recently sat down with ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith to discuss how he feels about his future with Portland. Lillard called it “the most important offseason since I’ve been here”. 

We’ve seen Damian Lillard makes comments in the past about possibly leaving the Blazers, but he may be on his last straw. His comments sounded very serious when speaking with Smith and he seems to be putting the control in Portland’s hands. It will ultimately come down to the decisions they make as a front office whether or not their seven-time all-star will be back in 2023-24.

Portland has some difficult decisions that need to be made about the direction of its franchise.

Damian Lillard knows it is time for the Blazers to figure out how to win, or some tough conversations will have to be had on both sides#sascast pic.twitter.com/ljXZfwDGpF

— Stephen A Smith (@stephenasmith) April 13, 2023

Could we see Damian Lillard leave the Blazers this off-season after 11 years with the franchise?

Earlier this week, Damian Lillard made some comments about his future with the team based on what happens in the draft. He then doubled down on those statements last night when he spoke with Stephen A. Smith. Lillard is not shy and is speaking directly to the Blazers’ front office without directly mentioning them.

He’s been with Portland for his entire NBA career and wants answers on the direction of where the franchise is going. At 32, Lillard does not want to be involved in another rebuild that will waste another 3-4 years of his career. Here’s what he had to say directly to Smith in their brief interview.

“I ain’t gonna say I’m putting them on the clock, I’m just saying if those things can’t be done, (if) we can’t do something significant like that then we won’t have a chance to compete on that level. Not only will I have a decision to make, but I think the organization will too because at that point, it’s like, ‘Are you gonna go young or are we gonna get something done?” – Damian Lillard

Lillard wants the Blazers to either be fully committed to getting pieces that can help them win now, or go into a rebuild and trade him away. Chances are he does want to stay with the Blazers as it’s likely the easiest option for him and his family, but some tough conversation will have to happen.