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“You Just Going to Rot in Portland, Bro?”: Former NBA Champion Expresses Heartfelt Concern for $225 Million All Star

Published 07/26/2022, 12:30 PM EDT

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NBA superstar Damian Lillard is one of the most loyal players in the league right now. At a time when loyalty is scarce from both players and teams, Lillard is one of the very few left with any. However, being loyal in the NBA isn’t something very easy. Because it is a huge business and everyone has their own problems to resolve. And the ones who are loyal, like Lillard, have to pay a huge price, even though he was rewarded handsomely.

Winning has been a bit of a problem with the Portland Trail Blazers. They have found it hard to make a deep playoff run due to the lack of a good supporting cast. Former NBA champion JR Smith talked about it recently.

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Smith sat down with former All-Star Gilbert Arenas for his podcast ‘No Chill with Gilbert Arenas’. During the podcast, Arenas and Smith talked about superstars teaming up with each other to win the NBA title.

JR Smith doesn’t want Damian Lillard to end up trophyless

Arenas said that he wouldn’t mind superstars teaming up. He said that legends like Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, and Larry Bird had Hall Of Fame teammates. Even though they didn’t move to a different team, others came to them.

JR Smith admitted the notion and talked about Damian Lillard. He said, “Like, I love Dame, I love his game. I respect him for doing what he’s doing. But at the same time, it’s like, you just going to rot in Portland, bro?” 

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Smith said that Lillard is unbelievable and that he can score at will and said that he wouldn’t stay in a city without winning. He said, “I’m trying to win bro!”

Then the host brought up Lillard’s new contract extension. As per reports, Dame signed a two-year max extension worth $225 million. Talking about this, Arenas said that he wouldn’t mind playing for a team that is offering less money if they are title contenders. He only played 29 games this past season because of a core injury that required surgery. The Blazers finished 27-55, their worst record since 2005-06.

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Their front office has made some changes to the roster to build around Damian Lillard. The Blazers acquired Grant from the Detroit Pistons and signed free agent Gary Payton II from the Golden State Warriors.

What are your predictions for the Trail Blazers next season? Let us know in the comments.

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Written by:

Bagavathi Eswaran

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Bagavathi Eswaran is an NBA writer at EssentiallySports. He has been playing the game of basketball for more than 20 years now and has also been following the NBA for more than 10 years. After not being able to go pro, this former college player decided to join the IT industry.
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Edited by:

Arunaditya Aima