Enes Kanter on Damian Lillard Trade Rumors: 'He Wants to Win It All in Portland'

Damian Lillard has given cryptic answers about his future since the Portland Trail Blazers' season ended, but at least one of his teammates doesn't think the six-time All-Star will seek a trade from the only organization he's ever known. 

Appearing on SiriusXM NBA Radio (h/t Marc Berman of the New York Post), Enes Kanter said that Lillard "wants to win it all in Portland."

"I’m saying this every time I talk about him, but he’s definitely one of the most loyal and maybe the most loyal player in the league," Kanter added about the star point guard. "People always talk about how good of a player he is, but he’s actually one of the best teammates that I’ve played with.”

Following Portland's loss to the Denver Nuggets in Game 6 of the Western Conference first round, Lillard told reporters something has to change for the team to become a championship contender: 

"I don't know what a shakeup looks like or what changes will be made or could be made, but obviously as is, it wasn't good enough. We came up short against a team without their starting point guard and shooting guard (Will Barton and Jamal Murray). ... Obviously, where we are isn't good enough to win a championship if it's not good enough to get out of a first-round series with two of their best three or four players not on the floor."

The Blazers began their offseason by parting ways with head coach Terry Stotts, who had been with the club for the past nine seasons. 

Sam Amick of The Athletic reported Lillard "is not making demands of any kind" to Portland's front office about who the next head coach should be.

The 30-year-old did advocate for Jason Kidd to replace Stotts in an interview with Yahoo's Chris Haynes, but the Los Angeles Lakers assistant told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski he was withdrawing from consideration for the job. 

There has been no indication Lillard is going to ask for a trade. He remains under contract to the Trail Blazers through the 2024-25 season. 

Lillard ranked third in the NBA in scoring average during the regular season with 28.8 points per game. He was seventh with 7.5 assists per game and shot 39.1 percent from three-point range.