Damian Lillard seemed to have put his belief in the Portland Trail Blazers even when the likes of CJ McCollum left the side. Having not been able to establish a firm and supporting set of players even in the 2022-23 season, Celtics legend Paul Pierce went on to urge Damian to leave his beloved franchise.
Moreover, Pierce went on to compare Lillard’s (who also became the organization’s leading point scorer back in December 2022) situation in Portland to the time Kevin Garnett faced in Minnesota.
Pierce said, “I’ll tell you this Tic, he is one of the greatest players to ever play and he has given everything he can to a franchise that can’t build a championship contender around him. I know more than anyone you feel this situation. As loyal as he’s been and similar to your situation. As prideful as he has been, it gets to a breaking point and I’m sure this is something that you can talk about because I know you probably never wanted to leave Minnesota. You left your heart, your blood, sweat, and tears, you gave that city everything and you wanted more than anything to win out there.”
Paul Pierce on Damian Lillard
The 2008 NBA Champion added, “You just looked exhausted night in and night out. I ain’t taking this nowhere and I see the same thing in Lillard finally. … It’s time for him to move on from Portland.”
In simpler words, Pierce did not want to disregard Lillard’s effort in Portland but he only urged the charismatic guard to join a championship-caliber team to finally be able to give justice to his talent and scoring prowess.
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