The Portland Trail Blazers' search for a new head coach concluded on Sunday with their hiring of Chauncey Billups. But the decision hasn't guaranteed that superstar guard Damian Lillard will stick around and play for him.
According to a recent report from Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports, the backlash from Portland's hiring process and selection of Billups, as well as concerns on whether a title contender can be assembled, have become factors that could push Lillard "out the door" and to force a trade.
Lillard has also received social media criticism for initiating the hiring of Billups, although he reportedly never suggested Billups as a potential hire and was unaware about a sexual assault allegation made against Billups more than two decades ago.
"With this situation, I wonder if [Lillard] already has a foot out the door, because I don't believe that the outrage or anger is really that strong as it relates to him," Washington Post reporter Michael Lee told The DA Show on Monday. I don't think the fans are overwhelmingly against Damian Lillard because he supports Chauncey Billups. I just don't believe that. And I think that, if you already feel like you want to leave and you already feel like you don't have a chance to win a championship with the organization, you might be looking for that first out. And you hear reports that he might want to force a trade.
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"To me, I don't think that this is enough to warrant a trade, because I don't believe there's a movement within Blazers fans to want to get rid of him. I just don't see that as being the case. There may be one or two people on Twitter who may say something. But as we know throughout life, there's a Twitter world and there's real world, and I know that in the real world, Blazers fans want Damian Lillard in that uniform. But if he wants out, then so be it. Just go ahead and say you want to go somewhere else."
Lillard, who signed a four-year, $176 million contract extension back in 2019 that runs through the 2024-25 season, averaged a team-high 28.8 points and 7.5 assists during the truncated regular season. The 30-year-old also averaged 34.3 points and 10.2 assists in the Blazers' first-round playoff loss to the Denver Nuggets.
Despite four first-round exits in the last five seasons, Portland has appeared in the Western Conference playoffs for eight consecutive years. No other team in the NBA has a longer active streak of postseason appearances.
The entire NBA conversation between Lee and DA can be accessed in the audio and video players above.
You can follow The DA Show on Twitter @DAonCBS and @CBSSportsRadio, and Tom Hanslin @TomHanslin.