Damian Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo: Different Players, Same Disappointment
The 2022-23 season was a disappointment for both Damian Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo. While their teams vastly underperformed, Lillard is looking to capitalize on this disappointment.
Lillard’s Future with the Trailblazers
Dame and the Portland Trailblazers have had an ongoing debate over his future with the franchise. While the former 6th overall pick wants to stay in PDX, the front office is not doing itself any favors by surrounding him with subpar talent and not a single All-Star.
Giannis’s Disappointing End to the Season
Giannis won himself a championship in 2021 with the Bucks, ending a 50 year drought. However, their most recent loss against the Miami Heat in the first round was a major disappointment for a team that was considered an Eastern Conference favorite.
Lillard’s Recruiting Mode
Damian Lillard seems to be in full recruiting mode this offseason. He’s been showing up courtside for the Brooklyn Nets-Philadelphia 76ers game, staying active on Twitter, and even siding with Draymond Green for stomping on Domantas Sabonis’s chest. All of these are close friends of Dame and he seems to be looking to add another star player into that inner circle of his.
The Cryptic Tweet
Following the Bucks’ Game 5 loss to the Miami Heat, Dame took to Twitter to retweet a photoshopped image of Giannis Antetokounmpo in a Blazers jersey. This was his way of sending a message to the Bucks star that he is looking to recruit him to Portland.
Previous Attempts
This is not the first time that Lillard has tried to recruit another star player to the Blazers. When Kevin Durant demanded a trade away from the Brooklyn Nets in the 2022 offseason, Damian Lillard was first on the scene to try to recruit him. He put up a photoshopped image of himself with KD in a Blazers uniform on his Instagram story. Unfortunately for Blazers fans, not only did Durant’s brother shut down these rumors pretty quickly, Portland wasn’t even on KD’s list of preferred destinations.
Conclusion
Damian Lillard is looking to capitalize off of the disappointment of the 2022-23 season by recruiting Giannis Antetokounmpo to the Blazers. While this would be a difficult move from a cap space perspective, having Dame and Giannis on the same team almost guarantees a deep Playoff run regardless of the pieces around them. Lillard has tried this before with Kevin Durant, but it didn’t work out. This time, however, he may have a better chance of success.
