Portland Trail Blazers point guard Damian Lillard has had his name in headlines far more frequently than he'd like during the 2021-22 NBA season. Trade rumors have been making the rounds regarding Portland's franchise cornerstone, and it seems that Lillard is growing tired of all the rumblings. In a cryptic Instagram post on Wednesday, Lillard appeared to be taking a shot at someone, captioning the photo of him on a workout bike, “It’s always a snake close by when you doing work! Keep pedaling.”

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Damian Lillard (@damianlillard)

While Lillard didn't make clear who in particular he's referring to as a snake, fans in his comments speculated that he was referencing Jason Quick, who covers the Blazers for The Athletic. Fans in the comment section identified Quick in the image, who can be seen in the background of the photo, seated in a chair behind Lillard, wearing a white shirt and a black mask.

Fans began speculating as to the source of Dame's snake comments, with one commenter suggesting via Twitter that the post stems from a recent press conference during which Lillard voiced his displeasure over his treatment by members of the local media, to whom he has shown nothing but respect.

Another Twitter user provided a screenshot of a comment section from one of Quick's articles, in which the beat writer indicates he knows Lillard's post-game presser comments were directed at him. Fans seem to think, given his appearance in the photo, that this is another shot at Quick from the Blazers' star.

There's no telling whether Dame's comments were truly throwing shade in the direction of Quick, but fans seem to be under the impression that he was the target of Lillard's cryptic post.