One day after dropping 21 points in the All-Star game, Damian Lillard sat down with ESPN’s Rachel Nichols.
Damian Lillard has been a busy man this All-Star break.
Shortly after dropping 44 points on the Golden State Warriors for a crucial victory, Lillard scored 21 points in the All-Star game and placed second in MVP voting.
He wrapped up the break with a brief interview for ESPN. Rachel Nichols brought up three topics for Dame to discuss:
Rank Amongst Point Guards
ESPN’s Rachel Nichols asked Lillard where he ranks compared to other point guards in the league. Despite point guard being the most talent-filled position, Dame remains confident (and correct) in his answer.
He responded with, “I think I’m as good as any point guard in the league…There’s nothing that any point guard in this league that I can’t do.”
Well, the man is right. He’s a deadly three-point shooter, blows by defenders on drives, distributes and handles the ball well, plus he holds his own defensively after an offseason of major improvements.
Two legendary guards endorsed Lillard’s self-rank. Over Twitter, Dwyane Wade told Dame to take out the “Think” and simply consider himself as good as any point guard in the league.
Take that word “Think” out @Dame_Lillard you a bad boy https://t.co/XzG9ZXAAbh
— DWade (@DwyaneWade) February 21, 2018
Stephen Jackson also endorsed Damian Lillard by including him in his top-five NBA point guards. On The Jump, Jackson couldn’t name a better offensive point guard and only listed John Wall as better defensively.
Meeting with Paul Allen
This player-owner meeting has been blown out of proportion for so long.
Damian Lillard and Paul Allen met in private to discuss the team’s direction four weeks ago. Still, Rachel Nichols inquired about the meeting to maybe unlock a new angle on it.
Dame explained the his purpose of speaking with Paul Allen -simply to ‘spark that urgency.’ The Blazers are a 7th in the Western Conference and need an extra kick to reach the top four or five spots.
Unfortunately, no major moves came out of the trade deadline period for Allen to satisfy Lillard. This doesn’t mean the franchise point guard is leaving though. In fact, he once again solidified his loyalty to Portland at the conclusion of the interview.
CJ McCollum
CJ McCollum‘s name appeared a lot leading up to the trade deadline. With Dame untouchable, McCollum is the only Blazer player who could produce a return capable of helping Portland. He’s rumored to be one of the hotter trade targets in the summer too.
Lillard doesn’t think the team underperforms because of him and CJ. And for that reason, he doesn’t see the backcourt tandem ever splitting up.
Their friendship only improves their on-court play as well.
Next: Blazers who weren't All-Stars but could've been
As usual, Damian Lillard’s loyalty to the small market Portland Trail Blazers was questioned. As always, he explained his love for the organization and desire to stay in the Pacific Northwest wearing black and red.
Us Blazers fans are pretty lucky. We’ve got a top tier point guard who wants to play and improve the franchise throughout his whole career.