Blazers star Damian Lillard has spoken to the media for the first time since his abs surgery and has made it clear he will take his time returning to the field. This is also related to the fact that Portland is playing a disappointing season and Lillard therefore has to think all the more about his future.
Lillard said he’s feeling good but there’s “no rush” to make a comeback. The guard last played in the January 1 loss to the Lakers before opting for surgery due to long-standing abdominal problems. The intervention was finally carried out on January 13th.
An exact forecast regarding a comeback is not yet possible at this point in time. “We have agreed that we will look at the situation again in six to eight weeks and then talk about how to proceed,” said the 31-year-old. The injury had been troubling him since 2015 and was only getting worse. Jrue Holiday finally convinced him at the Tokyo Olympics that surgery was inevitable in the long run.
“He was the first person who confirmed that to me. Once, when I missed a day of training because I couldn’t move, he described every single one of my symptoms to me. And I said, ‘I have all of those.'” Holiday suffered from similar problems in the 2018/19 season, which led to surgery.
Lillard: “The number one goal is to win a championship”
As Lillard acknowledged, the condition had “reached a point where my body couldn’t do what my mind was trying to do. At some point, you have to make a decision that’s right for the long haul, not for the moment .”
Since the Blazers are currently only tenth in the Western Conference with a record of 19-26 and even have to worry about the Play-In Tournament, the question arises as to what extent a return in the current season makes sense for Lillard. “My number one goal is to win a championship. To make that possible I have to be in the best possible form,” he said.
In addition, Lillard made it clear that he did not want to rush his return “if we are playing for a draft pick, I can’t do that.” Should the Blazers decide to tank later this season, “it wouldn’t make sense for me to play.”
Lillard has made 29 appearances this season, averaging 24.0 points and 7.3 assists per game (40.2 percent from the field, 32.2 percent from three-pointers). These are the weakest ratings for the 31-year-old in his entire career. He is still tied with the Blazers through 2025, earning $48.8 million in the 2024-25 season. In the past few months, there has been speculation about a contract extension in addition to a trade (which Lillard himself denied).
