Damian Lillard denied a report he will ask for a trade in the coming days, but added Friday from Las Vegas he still hasn’t decided about his future with the Trail Blazers.
That gives the Knicks — and other suitors — hope the disgruntled Lillard eventually will want out of Portland. Lillard confirmed he planned to meet with new Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups and general manager Neil Olshey in Las Vegas on Friday night to discuss his future.
Lillard, making his remarks after Team USA’s practice, still said his future is very much in the air. At the tail end of the conference call, however, when asked if he “expects’’ to be with the Blazers next season, he paused and said he did.
TrueHoop.com reported Friday morning that Lillard will ask for a trade in the coming days.
“I woke up to those reports,’’ Lillard said. “It’s not true. I said the last time I spoke to you guys, a lot of things are being said that’s not coming from me. It’s not true. I also said I haven’t made any firm decision on what my future will be. There’s no need for anybody else to speak for me.
“A lot of things go into it. The only people I need to discuss it with at this moment is my team.’’
Lillard likely would be attracted to the Knicks’ situation because assistant coach Johnnie Bryant is one of his mentors from his youth in Oakland, Calif. The Knicks have been monitoring Lillard’s situation for months, and are interested in putting together a package for the Blazers superstar.
Lillard said he needs to see an “urgency” from Portland management to make the moves necessary to win a title. He was bitterly disappointed the Blazers were knocked out in the first round by the undermanned Nuggets.
“The best way to put it is be more urgent about our next step and how we move forward,” Lillard said Friday. “We made [the] playoffs a lot of years in a row. We’re not a bad team. We’re a winning team. We got a great environment, great city, great fans. But we’ve reached that point where it’s not enough. Do we actually want to win it all? Is that what we’re shooting for. We have to do things to show that. We got to put action behind that desire to win at that level.
“Right now I’m not sure what I’m going to do. My intention in my heart is to always be in a Trail Blazers uniform for my entire career. But over time, you want to win it all. We all have to be making strides toward that.”
Olshey and Billups perhaps have the next couple of days to convince Lillard of their title plan before he and Team USA leave for the Tokyo Olympics.
“We’ll talk,’’ Lillard said. “I’m playing USA Basketball. Obviously with everything out there now, we’ll speak. They were going to be here regardless. Every time I’ve done USA, they came out here. This time there’s a conversation to be had.’’
Perhaps with Lillard giving suggestions on improvements.
“This year’s it’s more urgent — more urgency behind it,’’ Lillard said. “Of course there’s guys I feel can help and we should target.’’
If Lillard asks out, the Knicks likely would be amenable to trading three first-round picks. A source said RJ Barrett is not untouchable, but the club is more amenable to trading rookie Obi Toppin, who plays Julius Randle’s position.
Time is of the essence, with the NBA draft coming up on July 29 and the Knicks needing to know whether to continue pursuing Cavaliers point guard Collin Sexton, among others.
Asked if he’s thinking about other teams, Lillard said: “If I say I haven’t made a firm decision, that means I’m not looking at the direction of another team and this is what I want to do. We’re not at that point.’’
Aaron Goodwin, Lillard’s Oakland-based agent, has a long-standing relationship with Knicks GM Scott Perry.
Lillard acknowledged Billups could help as “a fresh voice getting us in the right direction,’’ but just that is not enough.
“But the team as is going into next season, I don’t see how you can say it’s a championship team,” Lillard said. “We just lost in the first round to a team that was hurt.’’