Officially, the Portland Trail Blazers are still leaving the door open for Damian Lillard to return before season's end.

The team announced late last month that Lillard had passed the “initial phase” of rehabilitation from mid-January surgery on his abdomen, and would soon begin the “reconditioning phase” of his recovery. The first week of March has come and gone without any further light being shed on Lillard's status.

A few days before Portland's press release concerning his progress, though, Lillard admitted what seemed obvious from the moment he went under the knife and was all but confirmed when the Blazers sent C.J. McCollum, Norman Powell, Robert Covington and Larry Nance Jr. away at the trade deadline.

In a February 23rd appearance on The Draymond Green Show, Lillard came as close as anyone from the organization has to clarifying that he wouldn't be returning before the end of 2021-22.

“When I first had the surgery I was more optimistic, like, ‘We're gonna see,'” he said. “But I think where we are right now and what we need to happen for us to be able to take full advantage of the opportunity we've created with all the moves we made, I don't even think that's the play to make, you know what I'm saying? I ain't a thousand percent sure, but at this point I'm not sure how much sense [returning] makes.”

Lillard and the Blazers have been aligned on his road toward playing again from the very beginning. He indicated as much while discussing Portland's transformational trade deadline and offseason plan of attack on Green's podcast. Fully re-committed to Rip City after a summer of waffling, Lillard fully understands the context behind the Blazers tanking away the season's remainder.

Remember, Portland only retains its 2022 first-round pick if it falls in the lottery. With Lillard and Anfernee Simons off-limits via trade and most of their theoretical cap space accounted for by cap holds owed to the latter and Jusuf Nurkic, the Blazers' best means of adding an impact player or multiple ones this offseason could very well be the draft.

Just how much different would Portland's path forward look if it had the opportunity to take Chet Holmgren or Jabari Smith Jr. with one of the first two picks in the draft?

Whether the Blazers would keep that draft pick instead of shopping it in exchange for a star doesn't really matter with regard to Lillard's status. Retaining their first-round selection and ensuring it has as good a chance at landing toward the top of the draft as possible is the utmost priority of Joe Cronin, Chauncey Billups and Portland's other head decision-makers.

A healthy, refreshed Lillard being back in the fold for the last couple weeks of the regular season is diametrically opposed to that organizational aim. Even if both he and Jusuf Nurkic returned for the last 10 games or so, Portland would still have ground to make up to earn the final spot in the play-in tournament.

Would chipping away at their lottery odds with a few extra wins be worth the mere chance of the Blazers extending their league-long streak of playoff berths to nine seasons? No way, especially considering they'd be bound to get eliminated by the Phoenix Suns, Golden State Warriors or Memphis Grizzlies in hasty fashion come the first round.

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There's a case to be made that Lillard returning would help he and Anfernee Simons develop the cohesion necessary to lead Portland to heights as soon as next season its prior starting backcourt never could. Indeed, Lillard and Simons have many questions to answer on both sides of the ball—especially defensively, of course—before proving themselves capable of lifting the Blazers to real contention.

But a world doesn't exist in which they do it alone. Portland remains in a major state of flux in wake of the trade deadline, with just five surefire rotation players—with apologies to Justise Winslow—for next season currently in house assuming Simons and Nurkic get new contracts in free agency. Cronin still needs to find at least three more rotation players, including an impact starter on the wing who can help the Blazers compensate for the collective lack of defensive mettle provided by Lillard and Simons.

There's just not much Lillard could learn from getting some additional burn next to Simons or playing with Hart for the first time that he wouldn't have to go over again following an undoubtedly busy offseason. Portland started finding the identity Billups wants during its pre-All-Star surge, but it's vanished since, and this team will have to forge it all over again in training camp next fall after bringing in a handful of key additions.

The potential benefits of Lillard coming back this season, basically, don't come anywhere close to offsetting its layered, big-picture opportunity cost. Fortunately for the Blazers, Lillard seems to understand that as well as anyone.