How Damian Lillard and the Trail Blazers are Moving On From Each Other
How Damian Lillard and the Trail Blazers are Moving On From Each Other
As Lillard prepares to return to Portland for the first time since being traded, both the franchise and its all-time leading scorer are in an uncertain place.
The most surprising thing about covering this Trail Blazers season is how little I’ve thought about the absence of Damian Lillard.
Maybe it’s just because the trade happened so soon before training camp and then there was a whole new roster to figure out and get to know, but his name really hasn’t come up much. I’ve followed his season in Milwaukee closely, as I’m sure most of you have, but covering a team daily can mean a lot of tunnel vision about what’s in front of you.
I spent yesterday evening watching two people I know very well, Blazers team photographer Bruce Ely and TrailBlazers.com beat writer Casey Holdahl, put on a photo gallery of their work documenting the first 11 years of Lillard’s career, which included shots of both his most iconic on-court moments and scenes with his kids. They took questions about what it was like to be there every step of the way as he became, well, the guy worthy of all the fanfare that’s going to come tonight. And then you remember: this game is going to be a pretty big deal.
People have asked me lately if I’m looking forward to Wednesday. My default answer has been, “I’m looking forward to Thursday.”
When the NBA released its 2023-24 regular-season schedule in August, the Blazers’ only nationally televised game was one in late February against another Eastern Conference team that has since been dropped (you do the math as to why). After Lillard was traded to the Bucks in September, ESPN picked this game up. It’s the most attention the Blazers will have on them nationally all year, and for good reason. Rebuilds are long and often unglamorous.
For the 11 years Lillard was here, Portland was usually in the national consciousness, either as a playoff contender or the subject of Lillard trade speculation and intrigue. Now that they’re on the other end, they’ve been largely off the radar. And Lillard has been in the spotlight in a way he never was in Portland, as a newcomer to a Bucks team that’s expected to be in the Eastern Conference Finals at the very least. It’s been an adjustment all around.
Once a summer of interminable rumors and leaks finally culminated in a deal getting done less than a week before the start of training camp, a general consensus emerged: Things worked out better for everybody in the end. Blazers general manager Joe Cronin did better in the deal he made with the Bucks than he would have done if he’d had to trade Lillard to the team most people thought he’d end up on, and Lillard landed in the best situation possible to compete for the championship he was never able to here.
In their first year apart, both sides are seeing what life looks like on the other side—for good and for bad.