Chauncey Billups on Damian Lillard Trade Rumors: 'It's Unsettling, It's Difficult'
Portland Trail Blazers point guard Damian Lillard issued a trade request on July 2, but he still remains a member of the team as his future remains in limbo.
The rest of the team must march forward, but head coach Chauncey Billups noted in an interview with Steve Aschburner of NBA.com that the situation is "unsettling" and "difficult" when asked about the current situation.
"Yeah, yeah. Obviously it's unsettling, it's difficult. But for me, all I can do, I'm responsible for giving my best to who we have. I don't know how it's going to play out. There's nothing I can do to control it. But I do know who we have on our team right now and who I've been working with this summer. Who I'm excited about. All I can really do is pour myself into our guys. And see what happens whenever that happens. I'm excited about Shaedon's progress. And coaching Scoot [Henderson] and Ant [Anfernee Simons].
"Figuring out what happens with Dame? Everybody knows how I feel about Dame and my opportunity to coach him. We'll just see. I don't know what's going to happen, but I'll be ready to do the best I can."
Training camp looms, and the regular season starts on Oct. 25. Lillard wants a trade to the Miami Heat, but that hasn't come to fruition.
Other teams have reportedly entered the mix, including the Chicago Bulls and Toronto Raptors. However, nothing seems imminent on the trade front even with the season set to begin in a month.
As Billups noted, the team still needs to move on, and he has a big job to do in coaching up some young talent, including Shaedon Sharpe, Scoot Henderson and Anfernee Simons. It's on him to lead the Blazers in the post-Lillard era.
Despite the tough situation, Billups made sure to give Lillard his due credit for his tremendous efforts as a member of the organization, which saw him make seven all-NBA teams and lead the Blazers to eight playoff appearances.
"Dame has been incredible," Billups said. "To the fans of Portland, to our organization. He hasn't been negative at all to anybody in our organization. Dame has been a stand-up guy. A professional the whole way through. It's the business at hand. I don't think there's pressure on either side."
For now, the waiting game continues on Lillard, but the Blazers are looking toward the future. They open the season Oct. 25 against the Los Angeles Clippers.
