Damian Lillard has played 11 years with the Portland Trail Blazers, but his time with the team looks over. Saturday, it was reported Lillard requested a trade from the Trail Blazers and that he is insistent on joining the Eastern Conference champion Miami Heat.

Lillard is one of the NBA's best players of all time. However, he has only advanced to the Western Conference Finals once with the Trail Blazers. The team has not put championship-level talent around him, and now he will likely be gone.

ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith was asked about Lillard's request and said he is “very, very proud” of the 32-year-old.

“I've been arguing with this guy for about six years to get the hell up out of Portland, to demand a trade out of Portland,” Smith said. “They're on a fast track to nowhere, I understand they're accumulating young talent, I'm not trying to throw any shade on the organization whatsoever. I understand what they're capable of, but at this particular moment in time, they just don't have the talent to be considered a championship contender.”

Lillard is a loyal player. He has maintained he wanted to build a championship team with the Trail Blazers, but they seem to be building for the future. Portland picked Scoot Henderson with the No. 3 pick in this year's NBA Draft. He plays the same position as Lillard.

The Trail Blazers also chose to sign forward Jerami Grant to a five-year, $160 million in free agency, limiting options to build a better team around Lillard, a star player. He averaged a career-best 32.2 points per game this past season and is now looking to lead a championship team in the last few years of his prime.

“He should have been done this,” Smith added. “He wasted years, the last few years, in Portland, as far as I'm concerned.”

Lillard would make a difference for the Heat, who were eliminated in the NBA Finals by the Denver Nuggets. He would be the team's No. 1 option and a huge star next to Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo.