Kendrick Perkins, Like All Of Us, Is Really Tired Of The Damian Lillard Rumors

For years, people have been asking Damian Lillard about his future with the Blazers and, for years, he has insisted he wants to stay in Portland for the rest of his career.

This summer, however, the tone of his messaging has changed a bit. He has continued to insist he wants to be there, but with the caveat that he wants them to build a contender around him. Up until the Draft, that meant the focus was on whether Portland would find a trade for the third overall pick to bring back a co-star for Lillard. Ultimately, Portland passed on trade overtures for that pick and selected Scoot Henderson, bringing yet another young guard onto the roster alongside Lillard.

Since then, there have been seemingly daily updates on Dame, ranging from “he did not contact the Blazers front office on Draft night” to “he really likes Miami but still wants to make it work with Portland.” He can’t be traded until the second week of July because of when he signed his extension last year, which likely means two more weeks of this posturing until something more concrete comes of it. That is bad news for all of us who are very tired of hearing about the passive-aggressive dealings behind the scenes, and you can count ESPN’s Kendrick Perkins among those who is tired of seeing Dame’s name on the rundown each day.

When you’ve lost Perk, a man whose commitment to hot takes is astounding, it says something. Perk is an analyst who will overreact to a small sample or a slight shift with the best of them, but even he cannot handle the constant Dame non-update updates.

His point about this likely coming down to when Portland pulls the plug is likely correct, as Lillard clearly doesn’t want to be the one to issue a trade request. He can push buttons and make it clear what he wants, but he’s dug in too often for too long to want to be the side that breaks first. The Blazers, however, can take a look at the reality of the situation which, as Perk notes, is that this isn’t a roster that’s just an upgrade or two away from being a contender, and help make that decision for Dame, understanding what he wants out of a trade and move on from there. It certainly seems like the team has already made their choice with their draft day moves, but it’s possible there’s one more thing up their sleeve to start free agency.

Again, we’re likely going to get another week-plus of this same cycle until the Blazers either make a splashy move that few around the league see as being available to them, or Lillard becomes trade eligible and the two sides finally part ways. You can count Perk out of those discussions, if he has it his way, but I’m sure he’ll be back next week being asked the same things and only growing more exasperated.