Damian Lillard Sees His Path With Blazers As Similar To Dirk Nowitzki With Mavs

[engelmartin]

He going to the Warriors bro.

You're that guy who thinks everyone is going to the Warriors. You should really try to understand how the salary cap works. How old are you?

[objectivefan]

Dirk took almost 100m in paycuts starting in 2010. Lillard took the supermax this summer.

Time to seperate paycut loyalty and supermax loyalty.

4 years 196 million... why is reporting so hard for real gm?

He got a supermax contract and wants to stay.

What is the story here? what am I missing?

This story is trying to make it seem like he wanted to stay and took a smaller contract with the idea of building a better team.

[the_process]

Dirk was higher up the food chain than Dame is now when he won in 2011.

Look, I respect Dame wants to play his whole career in one spot. But the NBA media is always pushing narratives, and Dame's right now is why doesn't he want to win a title. And there is something to that even though POR got a surprise WCF berth last year. He's not likely to win a ring there.

What? I don't see it that way at all. He wants to play in one place, stay loyal to a franchise that believes in him, that's respectable. He's not about taking the easy way out like so many superstars are these days.

That's not the prevailing narrative. Why do you think everyone is always about when Dame will request a trade?

I respect Dame to just want to be in one place his whole career and give it his best try on a franchise built around him to win, even if (read: when) he doesn't.

[Jedzz]

Dirk was higher up the food chain than Dame is now when he won in 2011.

Look, I respect Dame wants to play his whole career in one spot. But the NBA media is always pushing narratives, and Dame's right now is why doesn't he want to win a title. And there is something to that even though POR got a surprise WCF berth last year. He's not likely to win a ring there.

interesting point - it seems like not along when Dirk was a rookie. The narratives in the league and in sports journalism have shifted towards greater polarization and spin doctoring. "Why doesn't Dame want to play for a contender" sounds like an innocuous but likely headline in the years to come, especially if he continues to be a Top 20 player in the NBA. Social media and forms of tracking/stalking a player have shifted. It'll be interesting to see what - if any - impact that this has on his career in the years to come. Players are certainly under more of a critical microscope today than they ever were back in the late 90s and early 2000s.

We'll see how this whole thing plays out, but I would bet against him playing his entire career in Portland.

It is interesting. I am guessing that different players/people handle 30 questions about why you aren't trying to push out for greener pastures quite differently. Some of these guys probably aren't even thinking about doing so until they have media constantly in their ear asking them why not? Maybe it changes their mind over time.

[puja21]

Dirk was higher up the food chain than Dame is now when he won in 2011.

Look, I respect Dame wants to play his whole career in one spot. But the NBA media is always pushing narratives, and Dame's right now is why doesn't he want to win a title. And there is something to that even though POR got a surprise WCF berth last year. He's not likely to win a ring there.

Dirk was also way older in 2011 than Dame is now (and also entered the league 3 years younger than Dame did)

At Dame's age, Dirk had just won an MVP, but his 67 win team had also just lost in the 1st round to Nelly's 8th seed Warriors, who were 1 game over .500

Clearly Dirk is a much better player than Lillard, but it's not an apples-to-apples comparison.

[23artest23]

Good for Dame. It's a breath of fresh air to see a guy that appreciates what the organization has done for him.

[Lockdown504090]

it is almost funny how brainwashed everyone is into thinking rings are the only thing that matters.karl malone somehow isnt as good as kg and dirk to us because he couldnt beat michael jordan.... rubbish.

[the_process]

it is almost funny how brainwashed everyone is into thinking rings are the only thing that matters.karl malone somehow isnt as good as kg and dirk to us because he couldnt beat michael jordan.... rubbish.

Yet if you look at anyone's all time ranking lists, Malone is almost always behind both of them.

[the_process]

Dirk was higher up the food chain than Dame is now when he won in 2011.

Look, I respect Dame wants to play his whole career in one spot. But the NBA media is always pushing narratives, and Dame's right now is why doesn't he want to win a title. And there is something to that even though POR got a surprise WCF berth last year. He's not likely to win a ring there.

Dirk was also way older in 2011 than Dame is now (and also entered the league 3 years younger than Dame did)

At Dame's age, Dirk had just won an MVP, but his 67 win team had also just lost in the 1st round to Nelly's 8th seed Warriors, who were 1 game over .500

Clearly Dirk is a much better player than Lillard, but it's not an apples-to-apples comparison.

I just meant 2011 Dirk was a top 10 player, whereas 2019 Dame is a top 20 player.