![Is Damian Lillard Already Eyeing a Way Out of Milwaukee? 1 Milwaukee Bucks Damian Lillard](https://www.hardwoodheroics.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/lillard-300x169.jpg)
It’s safe to say that the Doc Rivers era for the Milwaukee Bucks has not gotten off to a great beginning. After taking over for head coach Adrian Griffin, who piloted the team to the second-best record in the league, Rivers has managed just a 1-3 start. And the worst loss of the bunch was to the hapless Portland Trail Blazers.
In addition to losing to a bad team, it’s what star guard Damian Lillard said before the game that may really sting. After spending 11 years with the Blazers, Lillard was traded to the Bucks in the off-season. While he did request a trade, he seemed to do so reluctantly, and there was never any animosity between himself and the team.
“Because of how I feel about Portland, how I feel about the organization here and my time that I spent here, in my mind I’ve always felt like that’s how my career would end.” Lillard told reporters. “Right now, I’m just in a space of like, this is where I am now. I’m in Milwaukee. I wanted the opportunity to contend, and our team has an opportunity to contend for this year and years to come, and I’m just living in that. But I definitely, when I was traded, I see a day where I’ll be in a Trail Blazer uniform again before I’m done.”
The fans in Portland appear to feel the same way about Lillard. When his name was announced in pregame introductions, he received a minute-long standing ovation. The team also showed two tribute videos highlighting Lillard’s prowess on the court, as well as his community activism.
“You just feel the appreciation and the love,” Lillard said after the game. “I just kind of stood in it. It was like, man, this is a big deal. Just take that moment and to have everybody in the building just show me that type of love, acknowledgement of a lot of things during my time here. So, I appreciated it.”
Lillard has three years remaining on his contract after this season. Because of that and the substantial amount of money he is owed, he’s probably not going to be traded to the Blazers or any other team in the near future. But just the fact that he’s waxing nostalgic about his old team – combined with the recent and perhaps future coaching turmoil in Milwaukee – has to make fans wonder if he’s truly committed to the Bucks or if his heart will always remain in Portland.