Blazers 'Committed to Building a Winner' Around Damian Lillard After Meeting, GM Says

The Portland Trail Blazers aren't looking to move Damian Lillard.

Portland general manager Joe Cronin issued a statement Monday and said he met with Lillard and the guard's agent, Aaron Goodwin, and "had a great dialogue. We remain committed to building a winner around Dame."

The comments came after Bleacher Report's Chris Haynes reported Monday that there would be a meeting "to discuss the franchise's direction."

Portland is facing a predicament this offseason.

On the one hand, it is coming off two straight losing seasons and may need a rebuild to become a serious contender in the Western Conference again. Selecting Scoot Henderson with the No. 3 pick of the 2023 draft is exactly the type of move that a club looking to build around young talent would make, and the Trail Blazers did just that.

Yet the team also has a franchise icon who is at the part of his career where he surely isn't interested in a rebuilding process.

Lillard, who will be 33 years old throughout the 2023-24 campaign, missed significant time on the way to 29 and 58 games played the last two seasons. Perhaps Portland could have made a playoff push if he remained on the court, and some veteran retooling around him could put it in better position to compete in the immediate future.

Yet the No. 3 pick figured to be the team's biggest trade asset this offseason, and it used it on someone who plays the same position as the seven-time All-Star instead of trading it for another veteran.

Now Lillard has to weigh loyalty to the only franchise he has ever known against a potential pursuit of the first championship of his career. Perhaps he will ask out this offseason with the hope he will be moved to a team that is in win-now mode.

Haynes already reported this offseason that the Miami Heat were focused on adding him with a "genuine belief this could be the offseason the veteran guard seeks a change of scenery."

That change of scenery hasn't happened yet, and the Trail Blazers are publicly committed to building a winner around Lillard at this point.