If you know Damian Lillard, you know he’s loyal to Portland.
Lillard signed a $120M contract with the Blazers in the summer of 2015.
Dame has said time and time again that he wants to stay in Portland, even at the expense of winning a title.
His shoes have had “Oakland, Ogden, Oregon” on the footbed.
And Lillard has a song off his album “The Letter O” called Loyal to the Soil.
All of his makes his exchange with NBC Sports Northwest reporter Jason Quick a bit curious… and TOTALLY worth overreacting to!
Twitter T’wars
It all started innocently enough.
A random Twitter follower with <200 followers makes a comment about Dame. Happens every day. Except THIS time…
I play the hand I was dealt bro. But I appreciate you fasho 🤷🏽♂️ https://t.co/qeatSbW9Dh
— Damian Lillard (@Dame_Lillard) December 5, 2017
…Dame responds, quote-tweeting for all the world to see! And what’s this?? WHAT DOES HE MEAN, “THE HAND HE WAS DEALT”??? HE OBVIOUSLY HATES PORTLAND! HE WANTS TO LEAVE!! LOUD NOISES!!
Enter long-time Blazers beat reporter Jason Quick.
— Jason Quick (@jwquick) December 5, 2017
A thinking emoji. No biggie, right? WRONG. Thinking about WHAT EXACTLY, Jason? How much Lillard doesn’t want to be in Portland? How Dame obviously hates this franchise and wants to get out of here? These are all perfectly reasonable answers!
So Dame of course had to respond.
Can I help you? https://t.co/xLg9v6orsv
— Damian Lillard (@Dame_Lillard) December 5, 2017
Ohhhhh, snap! Now we had a full-on Twitter war on our hands!.. and what’s this? PLAYER THREE HAS JOINED THE GAME.
— Jusuf Nurkić 🇧🇦 (@bosnianbeast27) December 5, 2017
A hand over the face. Disbelief. Jusuf Nurkic could not HANDLE what was happening. Neither could Dame.
They Trippin trippin Nurk lol https://t.co/cRBiHxWqCm
— Damian Lillard (@Dame_Lillard) December 5, 2017
Lost in all of this was the man who started it all: Jason Quick. He was playing it cool, laying low.
Until the next day, that is.
No help needed. Just trying to figure out why that guy thinks Portland has hindered you in any way. Like we a bunch of hayseeds out here. https://t.co/dlpo94CZPB
— Jason Quick (@jwquick) December 5, 2017
HAYSEEDS??? Who you calling a HAYSEED, fancy-pants reporter??? Well, Dame wasn’t letting a good night’s sleep get in his way of continuing a Twitter beef.
Where was I off base? https://t.co/nP1rhQVjKu
— Damian Lillard (@Dame_Lillard) December 5, 2017
All of Quick’s base are belong to Dame, as he realized he was firmly ensconced in a battle of mutual social media destruction. So Quick played his “Long Explanation” card in an attempt to turn down the heat.
By saying you are playing hand dealt. I think in today’s age of tech, the idea that Portland hinders an athlete’s exposure is tired. But I know how deeply you feel for P-town. I just get defensive when outsiders make assumptions about the city I love.
— Jason Quick (@jwquick) December 5, 2017
So, Quick was REALLY questioning Twitter user Stack-Dat-Cheese all along, NOT Dame! A bold move, Cotton. Let’s see if it worked for him.
I’m obviously not hindered . However this IS a small market..That I’m completely happy with. But u can’t pretend it’s the same market as NYC https://t.co/2zfVPgF8LT
— Damian Lillard (@Dame_Lillard) December 5, 2017
…and that was it. Quick was settled that he had clarified his point.
Dame was settled that he showed his love for Portland.
And, at least for one day, all was right with the Blazers again.