The Portland Trail Blazers are reportedly expected to give Damian Lillard a four-year, $191 million supermax contract extension this summer, a deal that would take him through 2025 (pending any opt outs).
It is a well-deserved pay day for Lillard, who had arguably the best season of his career this year and led the Blazers to the Western Conference Finals for the first time in his NBA tenure.
Sure, Portland ended up running into the seemingly never-ending buzzsaw that is the Golden State Warriors, but getting to the conference finals is still a major accomplishment for a club that many felt was a fringe playoff team at the beginning of the year.
Here are three reasons why the Blazers are right to reward Lillard with a max deal.
3. Well, he's really good
Let's start with the fact that Damian Lillard is one of the best point guards in the league and one of the best scorers the game has to offer in general.
Yes, he struggled against the Warriors and didn't exactly have a great second-round series against the Denver Nuggets, but let's keep in mind that Lillard was playing with separated ribs (ouch times a million) against Golden State, so that certainly affected his performance.
But on the season overall, Lillard was brilliant, averaging 25.8 points, 6.9 assists and 4.6 rebounds per game while shooting 44.4 percent from the floor, 36.9 percent from 3-point range and 91.2 percent from the free-throw line. He also gave it to Russell Westbrook in the Blazers' first-round series win over the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Players like Lillard don't come around very often. No, he isn't Stephen Curry and may be just a notch below Kyrie Irving, but the man is still an unstoppable force at times and can single-handedly win games.
2. He's a phenomenal leader
In addition to being a great player in general, Lillard is also an incredible leader and, from a pure person standpoint, is probably one of the best people in the league.
Plain and simple, Lillard is a terrific person who handles his business the right way on and off the court. He doesn't get into any trouble, doesn't cause any locker room issues and seems to be loved by his teammates and players around the league.
It's important for your best player to also be a great locker room presence, as many teams have found out the hard way in the past. Lillard checks both of those boxes and is the exact kind of veteran you want leading your squad.
1. What else are they going to do?
Let's face it: Portland is not exactly a marquee free-agent destination, so it's not like the Blazers can bank on landing any big-name free agents once they open up some cap space over the next couple of years.
Portland could trade Lillard, but what would be the point? You would basically be trading him with the hopes of that deal eventually yielding another player like him, but why do that when you have him already?
It's not like Lillard is old. He turns 29 in July and likely has a few more really good years left in the tank. Not only that, but Lillard simply loves being in Portland, and it's rare that an All-Star enjoys playing in such a small market. No, Portland isn't New Orleans, but it's obviously not New York or Los Angeles, either.
The Blazers have their franchise player in Damian Lillard, and they will have him for a long time. That gives them ample time to build a contender without having to rebuild. It's not like they're far away.
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