This has been an awful year for the Portland Trail Blazers. After signing Chauncey Billups as their new coach, there was hope that the franchise could turn around their awful postseason luck. Alas, it wasn't meant to be. After struggling to start the year, star point guard Damian Lillard was shut down for the year after getting abdominal surgery.

After eventually trading CJ McCollum to the New Orleans Pelicans, the Blazers went into hard reset mode. They rested their veteran starters, and instead tanked for the season. It was an unusual sight to see for a franchise that has been a post-season staple in the last decade, but it was a necessary step.

It's not like the Blazers liked doing this, though. Damian Lillard fired a strong message to the fans, saying that:

ā€œI just need yā€™all to know one thing: this would not continue.Ā Next year weā€™re gonna come back better than weā€™ve been,ā€

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One of his closest Blazers teammates doubled down on this take. Jusuf Nurkic, a close friend of Damian Lillard, tweeted out a simple message that said:

ā€œThe best is yet to be.ā€

When they were healthy, Damian Lillard and Jusuf Nurkic made for one hell of a pick-and-roll duo. They were arguably one of the best tag-teams in the league, thanks to Lillard's shooting and Nurkic's big frame. Losing both of them to injury severely hampered the Blazers, forcing them to tank this season.

However, both franchise cornerstones have made it clear that the losing stops this season. Expect these two guys to carry the Blazers to new heights next season.,