After reports surface that the Portland Trail Blazers are leaning on shutting down Damian Lillard for their last nine games of the season, fans are quick to express their disappointment for Dame Time over another lost campaign. Many also called for the team to trade the superstar and start their rebuild instead as they tank for a good pick in the 2023 NBA Draft.

According to the latest updates, the Blazers want to shutdown Lillard due to the calf injury he's dealing with. And considering that Portland is three and half games out of Play-In contention, the team believes it make sense to just let Dame rest and avoid aggravating his health issue.

Following the report, several “Free Dame” and “Trade Dame” talks flooded NBA Twitter. Lillard has been loyal to Portland, but unfortunately for team, the team was never able to surround him with enough talents to compete for a championship.

“Everyone in the West is battling injuries and competing except for Houston and San Antonio. This is a harsh reality for Lillard and Portland. Both sides need to considering moving on this off-season,” Kevin Walsh Jr. of Sports Grid wrote.

An NBA fan commented, “They need to do him a solid and lean towards trading him.”

“I really hope Dame gets out of Portland this offseason. That franchise continues to fail him and he deserves so much better,” another Twitter user said.

As mentioned, many others noted that the Blazers are simply going into tank mode. But then again, fans argued for them to move Lillard as well if they are planning to rebuild.

Here are more reactions to the Damian Lillard shutdown news:

https://twitter.com/teamibou23/status/1639755524450275331

It remains to be seen what the Blazers plan to do with Damian Lillard's future, but sure enough, it will be a major talking point when the offseason rolls on.