Super teams and going to big markets seems like the thing to do these days in the NBA. As players look to chase rings and etch out their legacy, there are a few superstars who prefer to make a name for themself in the city they were drafted to. Damian Lillard is one of those stars as he had said time and time again that he will never leave the Trail Blazers to seek out a super team. Instead, Lillard would rather create a legacy where he is and that he is Portland for the long haul.
In a recent article from Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe, Lillard actually spoke about why joining a big market can be a bad thing. Essentially, Lillard believes it can be hard to build chemistry when you join a new team and that the expectations are so high that if it fails, moves could be made quicker than you would imagine. This would ultimately force the star to a third team, which leaves them back at square one.
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“For every person that says I want to see him on the bigger stage and I want to see him go to a bigger market, of course those places have pros but nobody ever wants to talk about the cons,” Lillard said. “If you take that step and you go somewhere and it’s not where it seems to be and it doesn’t work out … or an injury happens and you haven’t established as much rapport with that team and they choose one guy over the next guy and now you’re traded to a third team.”
Perhaps the best example of this phenomenon is Russell Westbrook, who left the Thunder to join the Houston Rockets, only to be traded to the Washington Wizards a year later. Lillard doesn’t want that fate and as a result, you probably won’t ever see him in a jersey other than the Trail Blazers.
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