Lillard: Aldridge and I could have helped the Trail Blazers compete for the championship

Damian Lillard, a backcourt star who was cut by the Milwaukee Bucks this summer, returned to the Portland Trail Blazers, recently interviewed by well-known NBA reporter Andy Katz, in which he also talked about his old teammate La Marcus Aldridge. Lillard made it clear that they could have been the championship when he played with Aldridge at the Trail Blazers.

Lillard said: Aldridge and I stayed separately for four years before I really talked about the highlights with him. Brother, after all, there are some other people talking about something that is not between us. In fact, all I was thinking about at the time: Brother, I never cared about whose team this is or whose city this is. Actually, I didn’t care about these things. I just want to be your best addition. Lillard continued: I think we will win the championship in the next one or two years. Because in my second grade, we were already one of the strongest teams in the league at that time, and we just lacked some experience. And for a long time, we were one of the best teams in the league. By the time I was in the third grade, we encountered many injuries, and many of them were very serious injuries. I think the fourth year should have been a good opportunity.

In the NBA regular season last season, Lillard played 58 games in 82 games, averaging 36.1 minutes per game, averaging 24.9 points, 4.7 rebounds, 7.1 assists, 1.2 steals and 0.2 blocks, and 2.8 turnovers and 1.7 fouls, shooting percentage of 44.8%, three-point shooting percentage of 37.6%, and free throw shooting percentage of 92.1%. In the playoffs, Lillard played 3 games in total, with averaging 24.9 minutes per game, averaging 7 points, 2.7 rebounds, 4.7 assists, 0.7 steals and 0.7 blocks, and a turnover and 2.7 fouls. His shooting percentage was 22.2%, a three-point shooting percentage of 18.8%, and a free throw shooting percentage of 85.7%. This summer, the Bucks had somewhat unexpectedly cut off a two-year huge contract worth $113 million with extended terms. Lillard's old club, Trail Blazers, then provided him with a three-year contract with a total amount of $42 million to sign him back, of which the third year of the contract was still a player option. Lillard will be reimbursed for the season due to injury in the new season, and he will not be able to complete his comeback until the 2026-27 season. The Trail Blazers are in the rising stage and the team needs more time to get the young players to a higher level. At the end of his career, does Lillard still have the opportunity to lead the Trail Blazers to launch an attack on the championship?