Both Damian Lillard and the Portland Trail Blazers showed their commitment to each other when they agreed on a four-year $196-million super-max contract extension this past summer.

Lillard has also gone on record saying that he wants to play with the Blazers for his entire career. In a post-game conversation with Jason Quick of The Athletic, Lillard doubled down on his his commitment to the franchise that drafted him 6th overall in 2012.

The four-time All-Star told Quick that his commitment to Portland will never budge even if they don't make any league-splashing moves to drastically improve their roster ahead of the February 6th trade deadline.

“That don’t have nothing to do with my commitment to the team,” Lillard said. “I mean, it’s not like we are going to do something that is going to take us to the championship at this point. I think it’s more important for us to protect the assets we have, the guys who are going to be here and who are going to help us going forward. I don’t think it makes sense to sacrifice that just to make a desperate play.

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Lillard also acknowledged, while also reiterating his commitment to the Blazers, that they are indeed having an underwhelming season so far, though there is still time to turn things around. And even if the tough gets going, Lillard still confidently believes that he can go through them.

“It’s been a tough season, but the season is not over. We can make something of this season as we are, but it’s not worth, you know, saying ‘OK, let’s force something and go do something that at the end of the day doesn’t make sense.’ But that has nothing to do with my commitment. I said it after last game (Golden State): I feel like I can find a way. I can weather the storm. I can go through hard times.”

The Blazers recently made a move to upgrade their depth at the wing position with the addition of veteran 3-and-D forward Trevor Ariza. Likewise, the return of Caleb Swanigan and the arrival of Wenyen Gabriel can help address their injury-riddled front-line issues.

Portland currently sits at 11th in the Western Conference with a 19-27 record.