Throughout the past decade, Damian Lillard has made it crystal clear that he is not a fan of creating super teams. He wants to win a title with the franchise that drafted him and while the Portland Trail Blazers have failed to give him the proper supporting cast to win a championship, he is still toughing it out with them. Even this summer, there were plenty of rumors that Dame was on his way out, although he stuck to his guns and told reporters that he would be staying in Portland for the season.
While many find this mentality to be inspiring, there are others who believe that Dame needs to start doing what is right for him. Among those critics is none other than Shaq, who recently spoke to Rich Eisen about Lillard's situation. As he explained, Lillard isn't going to win in Portland and while he does have an old-school mentality, he needs to look inward and embrace a new team.
Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images
“He is an old school mentality guy that’s playing in the new school. The old-school guy would say, ‘I’m not teaming up with you, I’m gonna beat you’. But these new school guys would say, ‘hey, let’s team up to make it easier’. So that’s the toughest decision for him," Shaq said. “I know he wants to stay in Portland and win it out. But he may have to switch up his mentality… if everybody else is doing it, then that’s just gonna keep him further from winning a championship… Should he go to a contender if he wants to brighten his chance of winning a championship? I’d say he should do that. I don’t really like guys teaming up, but it’s just the way it is these days. If he can get to a team that already has two or three guys, and you add him. That raises his chances of winning a championship.”
This season will be a difficult one for the Blazers as they failed to pick up any big-name free agents over the summer months. Regardless, Lillard is a superstar in the league and he is more than ready to carry this team throughout the season.
Let us know which team you think would be a great fit for Dame, in the comments below.
[Via]
