The Portland Trail Blazers are approaching the point of their season where they have to decide to try to win or bottom out for better draft lottery luck. Victor Wembanyama is the ultimate prize for the lucky team that lands the first overall pick. Portland has the ninth-best odds to land that pick but Damian Lillard does not care.

The Blazers may not be winning right now but that is their ultimate goal for the season. Lillard needed just two words to make it clear that the Blazers are not going to be tanking.

“With 24 games remaining, I am all about the Blazers doing whatever is necessary to increase their odds to land Wembenyama/top 4 pick,” said Portland radio host Chad Doing on Twitter. “No way,” Lillard replied.

Lillard and Jerami Grant sitting out the Blazers' first game after the All-Star break due to rest signaled that the team isn't really doing everything it can to win. The decision was made after a debacle with their travel plans that put them in a suboptimal position to compete. Still, a team that's still fighting to get a spot in the play-in tournament right now could have shown more urgency to win.

The stance Lillard took is obviously not a shot at Wembanyama, a freakishly long, highly skilled player that teams will be extremely eager to draft. He wants to win with the Blazers more than anything. His commitment to the team is ironclad and he wants to get back into the playoffs after missing them last season.