Damian Lillard advises Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to think twice before wanting to leave: “Grass is not always greener on the other side”
Damian Lillard served up some advice for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who is currently amidst a career-best season, averaging 31.2 points per game while shooting 49.8%.
However, despite Shai's near-heroic performances this season, the OKC Thunder (14-18) are 12th in the Western Conference, four games below .500.
SGA's jump is unprecedented, and talks of him being an All-Star are taking the front seat. What has also taken the front seat is chatter about him forcing his way out of OKC, something that fellow guard Lillard has dealt with more and more throughout the years.
"My advice would be, he's in a situation where he's playing free, they believe in him, he's got a group of guys that understand that, you know, he's the leader, he's the guy, he's in a great positiion, he's off to a great start and he's coming into his own with that," Lillard said.
Damian Lillard on advice for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: "He's in a situation where he's playing free. ... He's got a group of guys that understand he's the leader, he's the guy. ... His career is in a great position. ... I'd say the grass is not always greener on the other side..." https://t.co/XQbdn9VhZe
"I'd say that the grass is not always greener on the other side. You don't know what it is going to look like or, you know, how the next team might view you. A lot of people that are saying 'free him,' they are not the ones who are going to live with the consequences if it doesn't work out."
Damian Lillard's decision to stay in Portland might be just as if not more consequential than him potentially leaving
While Lillard's advice is sound and is certainly biased on his own decisions, it isn't too controversial to say that Damian Lillard has, to some extent, done his best to try to take the Trail Blazers to the promised land.
Lillard is not just a great player, he is the quintessential building block of a franchise. Dame has averaged just under 25 points and 7 assists per game in his career and has been a crucial part of the 3-point revolution in the last decade.
He is primarily responsible for perfecting a shot that extends so far away from the 3-point line, that it is essentially indefensible. He's either going to make it or miss it, there isn't much a defender can do.
However, the other part of this story is the organization Dame plays for. The last NBA championship that the Trail Blazers won was in 1977, and when they made it to the Western Conference finals in 2019, they ended a 19-year drought. In those 19 years, the Blazers weren't able to make it past the second round once.
In fact, since Rasheed Wallace's Blazers and the Shaq and Kobe Lakers faced off in 2000, the Blazers have made it past the first round on just three occasions. All three have come under Dame's watch.
At some point, there needs to be some scrutiny directed towards the competency of an organization. A perrennial first-round loser isn't suddenly going to start winning championships.
On the bright side, the decision to bring on former NBA champion and 2004 Finals MVP Chauncey Billups as the head coach is laudable, and so is trading for Jerami Grant and signing Gary Payton II.
Anfernee Simons has shown flashes of brilliance this season, and taking a chance on Shaedon Sharpe, who never suited up for Kentucky, has proved to be a good decision as well.
Hindsight is 20/20. Only time will tell whether Damian Lillard's decision to stay in Portland is prudent or not.