For years, people talked about how loyal Damian Lillard was to the Portland Trail Blazers.
It sounds like he remained loyal to the end, in some very surprising ways.
A new report from Chris Haynes, via Ball Don’t Lie, revealed a lot about Lillard’s final months with the Blazers.
One shocking piece of information was that the team asked Lillard to sit out the last ten games of the 2022-23 season so they could acquire a high draft pick.
Lillard reluctantly agreed to do that and cited a “calf injury” as he remained on the sidelines for the end of the season.
The Portland Trail Blazers asked Damian Lillard to sit out the last 10 games of the team's 22-23 season to acquire a high draft pick, per @ChrisBHaynes.
Dame reluctantly accepted the request and it was cited as a "calf injury." pic.twitter.com/gGlOdoXOR0
— Ball Don’t Lie (@Balldontlie) September 29, 2023
This is a rather surprising move from Lillard.
In previous seasons, Lillard played throughout the entirety of the season, even though sitting out would have helped his team.
He isn’t one to sit out unless he has a legitimate medical issue.
But this shows that the was willing to help the Blazers’ front office.
According to Haynes’ report, the team promised that they would take a high draft pick and flip it into a veteran NBA star.
As we all know, that didn’t end up happening.
Instead, the Blazers acquired Scoot Henderson in the draft and he is still with the team.
This report proves that the Blazers and Lillard were suffering from some very bad communication in the weeks and months leading up to his departure.
This was a very fractured relationship that wasn’t working as it should have been.
The Blazers and Lillard worked really well together for years but things truly fell apart in the end.
NEXT: Insider Says Trail Blazers GM Wasn't Happy With Damian Lillard's Trade Demands
