We thought they were inseparable like Isaih Thomas and Joe Dumars and finally, Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum will no longer wear the same jersey. For a week, the leaders of Portland have decided to break their workforce, and McCollum has paid the price, transferred to the Pelicans along with Larry Nance Jr and Tony Snell. Currently injured, Lillard finds himself alone, surrounded by young people and players at the end of the contract. Here it is again at the heart of a reconstruction, and inevitably, he is touched by the idea to no longer play alongside his alter ego.
“It’s something that CJ and I had been talking about for years, as a possibility. I would say for the past three years, it was always something that he and I would talk about and he would say things like, “You know I could walk away.” And I answered him: “No, I don’t think so”. But over time, we both knew that at some point we might not be together in the backcourt, whether it was him being traded or me. You never know where the teams are, you don’t know it all the time as players. “
“When I saw ‘CJ at the Pelicans’, I was like, ‘Damn, there’s no going back, it’s over! “”
For Lillard, this transfer marks the departure of a teammate, but also of a friend.
“As a friend and teammate, I love CJ. He’s a real friend, not just my teammate. We have always been transparent. We knew this moment was coming. (…) Him and I literally talked about what was going to happen, the possibility of it happening and that it was likely and things like that. I woke up this morning and I was sad. It’s really done. When I saw “CJ at the Pelicans” and stuff like that, I was like, “Fuck, there’s no going back, it’s over!” It won’t be like before… Parking outside his house, dining on the go, and everything in between. It’s over, he’s on a new team. Even if I was aware of it and he was too, and that we always communicated in a transparent way, that does not make things easier to cash in or observe. “
“I think you have to be bold and do bold things”
While he explains that it will be very difficult to find the same complicity with another rear, Lillard is forced to think about the aftermath. Will he ask for his transfer since the team begins a new reconstruction? Or will he hang on and try to bring this formation back to the top again?
“My heart is a Portland Trail Blazer. I want to win. I know I have a program that will allow me to be at my best when I come back to play. And I want our team to match that. I’m a huge Chauncey Billups fan. I love Chauncey, we have a great relationship and I think he will continue to grow to be the manager he wants to be. And I’m a fan of Joe Cronin (the interim GM). In his position, I think you have to be bold and do bold things, do what you see fit and stick to it. He told me our plan was to build a winning team, not rebuild. Since we were very close before he became GM, I trust his word. “
