Damian Lillard: If Blazers Can't Contend, 'I Have a Decision to Make' About Future

Damian Lillard and the Portland Trail Blazers find themselves at an interesting fork in the road.

The superstar point guard told ESPN's Stephen A. Smith on Wednesday night that it's important to him that the Blazers choose to build a contending team this offseason.

"It ain't a threat. I ain't gonna say I'm putting them on the clock. I'm just saying if those things can't be done—if we can't do something significant like that—then we won't have a chance to compete on that level. And then, not only will I have a decision to make, but I think the organization will, too. Because at that point, it's like, 'Are you gonna go young, or are we gonna get something done?' I think we just kinda been on the fence with fully committing to either one. I just think we at that point now where everybody wants to win. They believe I deserve that opportunity."

It will be fascinating if the Blazers manage to win the top overall pick in the NBA draft lottery. There's no scenario in which Portland wouldn't take potentially transcendent talent Victor Wembanyama with the No. 1 pick, regardless of whether Lillard can wait to win or not.

Granted, Wembanyama may split the difference between building around Lillard and building around young players like Shaedon Sharpe and Anfernee Simons, given that he seems equipped to put up big numbers in the NBA from the moment he hits the court.

In that scenario, the Blazers potentially could try to package Sharpe and Simons together in search of a more established superstar, taking some pressure off Wembanyama in the process. But serving the needs of the win-now Lillard and the needs of building around Wembanyama's future may still come in conflict.

If they don't land the top overall pick, the decision becomes easier. The Athletic's Jason Quick reported this week that the team would "likely trade their lottery pick unless they land the No. 1 pick (they have a 10.5 percent chance)."

Lillard has made his desires clear.

"I'm just not interested in that. That's not a secret," the 32-year-old said of adding another young player via the draft this week. "I want a chance to go for it. And if the route is to [draft youth], then that's not my route."

At what point should the Blazers' path and Lillard's path dissect, however? At what point does the painful decision to trade Lillard for young players and draft capital become the smarter decision for the franchise's future than hoping to recruit another star player to join him?

Tough questions to answer. For now, however, it appears the Blazers and Lillard are aligned.

"We've done the tweak thing. A few times," head coach Chauncey Billups said this week. "We've got to be more aggressive than that. If we want to actually do right by the best player in the history of the organization, we have to be aggressive."

Lillard certainly agrees.