In life, there are three surefire things for Blazer fans: death, taxes, and Damian Lillard rumors. For Blazer fans, the trade rumors surrounding Lillard have become an exhausting exercise and cycle. Every year, national news outlets and sports shows beg Lillard to leave Portland, and they claim he is rotting his talents away for a small market team without any national pull. Not only do they beg Lillard to leave, but they claim that Lillard wants to ask out each summer. After these theatrics from the media, Lillard hushes the rumors and says he is staying in Portland. Next year, the cycle will repeats. And repeats. And repeats again. It is a song that Portland fans know all too well. But why? Why are so many people, media personalities and fans alike, wasting energy on trade rumors surrounding Lillard? Why are they infatuated with the idea of Lillard not in Portland? Why don’t the rumors stop?
One massive reason is the “big market” culture around the NBA. The NBA relies on big market teams and superstars, but they thrive when those two things merge. When a superstar plays on a big market team, it is a match made in heaven for the NBA from a revenue perspective. Think Lebron in LA. Tatum in Boston. Curry in Golden State. The formula to the NBA’s commercial and financial success is to have the best players in the world play on the most recognizable teams. But Lillard has bucked that trend and quite frankly doesn't care. Instead of conforming to the NBA’s model for success, Lillard has defined success for himself. And media personalities and fans alike can’t stand it. Look at Stephen A. Smith: every summer he begs Lillard to leave “the prison in Portland.” In what world is Portland a prison for Lillard? He makes almost $60 million a year, he has his own investments and car dealership, he has a great circle of friends, and he has a beautiful family that is comfortable in Portland. So I’ll ask the question again: how is Lillard’s situation in Portland like "a prison"? Because the media’s version of success is different than Lillard’s version. They see success through two different lenses. The media views success from the perspective of accolades and achievements. Lillard views success through the intangible stuff: how he treats people, how he leads people, and how he will be remembered as a human being. This doesn’t mean that Lillard doesn’t care about winning. Of course he does. He is as competitive as they come, but he wants to win his way. Not the NBA’s way and not the media’s way. And this drives the media crazy because they can't control how Lillard is perceived by fans.
The media controls the narrative in sports. Because fans consume NBA content through media such as sports talk radio, these personalities and journals have a major influence on how a player is perceived for the rest of his career. For example, look at Russell Westbrook. He’s a former MVP who has recorded an incredible number of triple doubles. However, after a few tough years, the media has scapegoated him and now his career may not be viewed as fondly by fans. Another example is Lebron. He has become the most scrutinized player in league history because of social media. The “Le” memes have become extremely popular, and while they are amusing, they also are rooted in a disdain for Lebron. The media is the main cause for why Lebron will go down as the most scrutinized player in league history. There are a few lessons to be learned from these examples. One is that the media doesn’t really care about the player; they care about creating clickable storylines. The other is that the media has immense influence on fans’ opinions of players. This is the exact reason why Lillard doesn’t pay attention to the media’s takes and instead largely ignores them. He doesn't want to feed into the media machine and play that game. He's determined to play out his career his own way. Because of this, he recognizes that fans may view him differently and even slightly worse. But remember, Lillard's definition of success is different. It's more nuanced. Obviously, he desires on-court success: championships, MVPs, and more All Star selections. But success to him goes deeper than that: way deeper than what the media and casual fans care about. When Lillard does win a championship in Portland (and yes, I think he does), it'll be incredibly sweet because he did it on his terms.
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It's July 18th, 2023. For the fourth day in a row, Stephen A. Smith is asking for Lillard to go to Miami on First Take. Chris Haynes, Dame’s media mouthpiece, has just tweeted that “there is genuine belief around the league that this could be the summer Lillard seeks a change.” Thousands of Instagram comments are claiming that Dame would look great in the Miami vice. However, there is a quiet confidence throughout the Pacific Northwest because Blazer fans trust Lillard isn’t going anywhere. While the rest of the country speculates Lillard’s future, Portland is peaceful. There is faith that their superstar won’t leave them. The offseason is often a hurricane as chaos descends onto the league as players switch teams and superstars demand trades. But Portland is the eye of the hurricane, and all is calm and still on the Pacific Northwest front. In fact, the only noise you hear is the pounding of a basketball at the Trail Blazers' practice facility in Tualatin, Oregon. It's Lillard - once again viciously preparing to lead the Blazers into the storm in 2024.
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