Damian Lillard is fully re-committed to the Portland Trail Blazers despite weeks of public waffling last summer. After his team's early roster overhaul at the draft and start of free agency, Lillard is reportedly on verge of signing a two-year, $107 million extension to keep him with the Blazers deep into his thirties.
Lillard, it seems, isn't going anywhere. But if major offseason changes don't spark the type of improvement Portland needs to get back to the playoffs next season, it wouldn't shock if his potentially simmering frustration boiled over—especially given Lillard's apparently fraught or nonexistent relationship with upper management.
In a sprawling story detailing Jody Allen's misdeeds and mismanagement as the Blazers' owner, the New York Post reports she continually ignored Lillard's repeated calls and emails as the franchise icon hoped to discuss his future in Rip City.
“Damian wanted to sit down and have a conversation with Jody about the team and she didn’t return his call. Then he tried to email her. Eventually she just never responded and put him in touch with [Bert Kolde, team vice chair],” the source alleged. “When you own a team, there are critical key decisions to make and you should be the one involved in making the decisions.”
Allen also comes under fire in the story for allegedly smuggling animal bones out of Africa and Antarctica, as well as sexually harassing multiple members of her security personnel. Those accusations that have long flown under the radar nationally, but made local waves in Portland again last season when the team launched an investigation into alleged workplace misconduct against general manager Neil Olshey, a probe that ended with his dismissal.
Allen shares controlling interest of the Blazers with the trust of her brother, the late Paul Allen. Though terms of the trust state that Portland and the Seattle Seahawks must be upon Paul Allen's death, which occurred in October 2018, his sister released a statement earlier this week insisting the franchises aren't for sale—even amid a $2 billion bid to buy the Blazers from Nike founder Phil Knight and Los Angeles Dodgers co-owner Alan Smolinisky.
Some cultures in the NBA are strong enough to transcend alleged transgressions of ownership. Lillard won't suddenly bail on Rip City just because he has a supposedly frosty relationship with Allen. But if he ever decides to continue his career elsewhere, it will be hard to completely overlook Allen's role in his departure.