The Portland Trail Blazers will sink or swim according to what Damian Lillard does, but their new head coach will not bend over backwards to accommodate him.
Appearing this week on SiriusXM NBA Radio, Blazers coach Chauncey Billups made some interesting comments about Lillard, saying that he would not push the All-NBA guard to stay in Portland.
“I came here to coach you, but it’s your career,” said Billups of Lillard. “It’s your life and it’s your family. I’ve been there before, and I’m not going to be the guy preaching, ‘Stay here, go there, do this.’ No. I’ve got a job to do. I want to do it with you obviously. But if at some point you deem, ‘Hey, another place is the place for me.’ That’s not going to be an indictment on myself. That’s going to be you making a decision for you and your family.”
Though trade rumors dogged Lillard and the Blazers for much of the summer, it seems that a crisis has been averted for the time being. Lillard recently re-affirmed his commitment to Portland. Billups also said later in the interview that Lillard is “all-in” on the Blazers.
The two men’s relationship did have a bit of a rocky start. But they seem to have an understanding that it is time to get to work now and let the results speak for themselves.
