Portland Trail Blazers point guard Damian Lillard could join the shortlist of elite point guards to warrant the eligibility for a supermax contract, much like his counterparts Stephen Curry and Russell Westbrook. Lillard will enter his third of five seasons under his current five-year, $140 million max deal and if he makes the All-NBA team in either this season or the next, he will become eligible to be Rip City's supermax gem.
If so, Lillard could start his supermax contract by the time he's 30 years old, a dangerous slope for many teams, considering it would pay upwards of $40 million for one season in his mid-30s — but it has been the Oakland-native's supreme trust in the organization and his commitment that would put him in owner Paul Allen's good faith.
While many stars signed their five-year extensions with a player-option, Lillard opted not to, giving the Blazers full control of his services over the course of five years, which would end in the summer or 2021.
“For me, I have never asked for a trade or been in a position where I was like, ‘I'm going to tell them to trade me,' because I'm all about the challenge,” said Damian Lillard, according to Sean Highkin of Bleacher Report. “But there's also the other side: My family is happy here, I'm happy with my situation here. So if a situation was ever to come up, or if I felt disrespected, or I wasn't valued, or they felt like it was time for me to move on, then that would be the time. But I don't feel that way.”
Lillard has doubled down on his desire to remain in Portland during every offseason, making a potential five-year, $235 million supermax contract a visible sight in the horizon, given his emergence as one of the NBA's best point guards.
The 28-year-old was recently named to the First Team All-NBA, an honor that puts him among the elite of floor generals — but that has done little to keep him from being extremely motivated to improve even more.
“I made another All-Star Game,” Damian Lillard said Monday. “I made First-Team All-NBA, which means I was one of the five best players last season. A lot went into it. And then you get into a playoff performance where I expected much better of myself.”
Lillard will be looking to right his wrongs after the Blazers were swept from the first round of the playoffs by the sixth-seeded New Orleans Pelicans, but his future as the team's franchise player is likely set in stone, as he's bound to become the second all-time leading scorer in franchise history if he scores at the same pace he did this past 2017-18 season.
Follow Us
Subscribe