Damian Lillard might be more known for being a star on the Trail Blazers today, but the guard first made his name in California. The Weber State standout attended Saint Joseph Notre Dame High School in Oakland. As a Bay Area native, he learned to love the local teams such as the Raiders. Unfortunately for him, most of his adult life has been spent watching the Raiders struggle.
That could all be changing soon. After a dreadful season last year, the Raiders have made moves to maybe head back in a winning direction. Disgruntled wide receiver Antonio Brown is going to be traded from the Steelers to the Raiders. Brown is a monster that can pull in just about any ball thrown his way. He’ll make the Raiders way more watchable and perhaps give them a chance to win some games. Lillard couldn’t be any more excited at the thought of that.
Yessir AB!!!! @ we on now 🤷🏽♂️ @AB84 https://t.co/wT4t19Waq7
— Damian Lillard (@Dame_Lillard) March 10, 2019
https://twitter.com/CHold/status/1104620373830590469
Maybe we’ll see Lillard in a lot more black and silver in the upcoming future. If the Raiders actually start to win football games again then that would be pretty fun for football. The NFL is always a little bit better when the Raiders have spunk and energy. Although they’ve been a doormat for so long that it’s easy to forget what that was like.
Lillard is also on the nose when it comes to the Raiders finessing teams in trades. Jon Gruden has made many moves worth criticizing in his early tenure, but as far as trades go he’s gotten some good return. He earned two first round picks in return for star defensive end Kahlil Mack. He then managed to snag a first round pick for the underperforming Amari Cooper (who then flourished in Dallas). Now, he’s been able to acquire Brown in exchange for only a third and fifth round pick. Gruden’s been far from perfect, but he and new GM Mike Mayock have done pretty well in terms of stockpiling assets and then getting stars for under value.
Or, as Lillard put it, he’s been finessing everybody.
