Wednesday night will feature a matchup between two of the top guards in the NBA today. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder host Damian Lillard and the Portland Trail Blazers in what should be a very intriguing contest.

Before the game, Lillard had nothing but high praise for his younger counterpart. With Shai now establishing himself as the Thunder's cornerstone stud, Dame provided a bit of sage advice for the 24-year-old as he looks to navigate the intricacies of having this responsibility on his shoulders:

“The grass is not always greener on the other side,” said Lillard, via Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman.

“You never know what it’s going to look like or how the next team might view you, especially when you’ve had some injuries like he’s had. You just don’t know. Also I would tell him a lot of these people that are saying ‘free him’ and all of these things or whatever, they are not the people that are going to have to live with the consequences if it doesn’t work out. They’re not gonna ever have to walk in his shoes.”

Lillard is clearly speaking form experience here as one of the last remaining lifers in the NBA. Dame has had more than a few opportunities to leave Portland — to “free” himself, so to speak — but through the years, Lillard has exhibited an unwavering loyalty to the Blazers. Dame believes that this is something that SGA must keep in mind as he considers his future.

The good news for the Thunder is that they've got Gilgeous-Alexander locked up for the foreseeable future. He's under contract through 2027, and unless he asks out, Shai should remain in OKC for the foreseeable future.

“He’s coming into his own,” Lillard said. “I can remember when I was younger and I became the leader of a team … I see that he’s in that stage. He’s trying to show what he can do — almost like a coming out party for him.

“He’s having a great season. He’s playing confident, he’s playing well for the team and it’s fun to watch, just not when it happens against us.”

Lillard admits that he sees himself in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, which is likely why he's trying to provide as much advice as he can to the young stud. It seems that if it were up to Dame, he would prefer that SGA sees out his career with the Thunder — something that Lillard is evidently intent on doing with the Blazers.