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Dame Time

Portland's practice facility feels different from this time, last year.

Whilst the expectations aren't dissimilar, the personnel and the practises have changed. There is a drive and expertise that has been missing since the team broke up the Lebron and Durant pairing two years ago.

The main catalyst for this is Damian Lillard. Returning to Portland for a second time, Lillard feels he has unifinished business - both personally, in his career, and to help Portland get back to the contending power that they once were.

Lillard was acquired from the Suns in the deal that sent multiple 2025 first round picks, Bradley Beal and a slew of younger players to the Suns for Damian Lillard, Brandon Ingram and some future swap rights. Unfortunately, Lillard has ruptured his achilles tendon and will likely miss the entire 2025-2026 campaign.

However, when given the opportunity to acquire a player of Lillard's character, the Portland Front Office jumped at the chance.

"Absolutely, there is never a bad time to acquire a star player like Dame. You get it done. Even without an achilles tendon" explained a Front Office executive.

This makes acquiring Lillard somewhat of a risk/reward situation for Portland. Lillard has already changed the mood and the precision in Portland. You don't become a superstar without putting in the work and managing every factor of planning, building, maintaining your actions. With so many talented young players in Portland, there was never a better time to have a star to set a high standard for winning and working hard, and catalyse the beginning of building a winning team.

Over 362 games in his NSL career, Lillard has averaged over 30 points and 5 assists a game. Truly elite numbers. At 35 years of age, his physical best is behind him. However, if he can supercharge the rebuild in Portland and spread the 'winning behaviours' across the roster and the entire organisation, then Lillard might just be able to age gracefully and winningly.

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		Comments (1)
laddas 09/23 03:43 am	QN, Qtr. OFF, #2