Report: Damian Lillard, Blazers Agree on 4-Year, $196M Supermax Contract
The Portland Trail Blazers and point guard Damian Lillard have reportedly agreed on a four-year, $196 million supermax contract extension.
Brian Windhorst of ESPN reported the agreement, noting the contract will have a player option. Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium first reported the two sides were working toward a deal.
Lillard has two seasons remaining on the five-year, $139.9 million contract he signed with the Blazers in July 2015 before the conclusion of his rookie deal. The new extension will keep him connected to Portland through the 2024-25 NBA campaign.
The 28-year-old Weber State product has emerged as one of the league's most dynamic players since the Blazers selected him with the sixth overall pick in the 2012 draft.
He averaged 25.8 points, 6.9 assists, 4.6 rebounds and 1.1 steals while shooting 44.4 percent from the field, including 36.9 percent on threes, across 80 appearances during the 2018-19 season. He ranked 10th among all NBA players in ESPN's Real Plus-Minus.
In an era where superstars are following each other around the league in search of titles, Lillard told Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports in February he wasn't interested in getting a championship that way:
The Trail Blazers finished third in the Western Conference with a 53-29 record during the regular season. They advanced to the conference finals for the first time since 2000 before getting swept by the star-studded Golden State Warriors to end their playoff run.
Lillard, shooting guard CJ McCollum and center Jusuf Nurkic give Portland the foundation for long-term success, especially with the typically dominant Dubs facing questions heading into the offseason with Klay Thompson recovering from a torn ACL and the also-injured Kevin Durant exploring free-agent options.
Landing a reliable starter at small forward while waiting for first-round pick Nassir Little to develop and finding a consistent stretch 4 headline the other key bullet points on the Blazers' offseason to-do list with Lillard's contract status settled.
