The Portland Trail Blazers had a rather unforgettable season, but for the wrong reasons. Damian Lillard got injured midway through the campaign, and so the team decided to break the roster up and focus on the future instead.

Despite their failed campaign, however, Lillard still sees a bright future for the team. And he expressed that belief before the Blazers played their final regular season game on Sunday, promising fans that they will be a better team in 2022-23.

“I just need y'all to know one thing: this would not continue. Next year we’re gonna come back better than we've been,” Lillard said as he addressed the crowd in attendance at Moda Center.

The Blazers have the third-worst record in the West, which puts them in position to draft in the lottery this 2022. However, more than that, they are also in prime position to chase for a legitimate star player to pair up with Damian Lillard after getting assets and creating significant cap space with their trade deadline moves.

Lillard emphasized that as well in a recent interview with Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports, highlighting the fact that they have an opportunity to create a roster “that can compete for a championship.”

“And I also think we’ve taken some steps back as an organization, obviously with the moves that we’ve made [at the trade deadline]. But we’ve also positioned ourselves to do something that we haven’t been able to do since I’ve been here, which is we’ve opened up money, we got picks, we got a $22 million trade exception, we got a $6 million trade exception, we got the full mid-level, we got the biannual,” Lillard said.

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Of course as Lillard furthered, that all depends on whether the Blazers can actually pull off and execute the plans they have. Free agency can be tricky, and they are not the only team looking to get the best players available in the market.

It's a great thing that Dame is confident about the Blazers' plan, though, since he'll be crucial for the team in enticing free agents and making trades for other big name players. His commitment to the franchise is critical as they try to convince their offseason targets that Rip City is the place to be.

Sure enough, Portland fans will also be hoping for the best in the team's quest to build a capable championship squad. The Blazers haven't had much postseason success over the past two decades, with their highest point coming in 2018-19 when they reached the Western Conference Finals (only to lose to the Golden State Warriors via sweep).

It has also been over 40 years since the franchise last won its lone NBA championship, so it is no wonder why fans are clamoring to see more competitiveness from the team and some sense of urgency from the ownership and management.