JULY 9: Lillard’s extension is now official, the Trail Blazers announced in a press release.
“Damian Lillard is the greatest player in franchise history and an all-time NBA talent,” general manager Joe Cronin said. “In signing this contract extension, Damian continues his commitment to the city of Portland and the organization. We look forward to his continued excellence here with the Trail Blazers for many years to come.”
JULY 8: Damian Lillard is signing a two year, maximum-salary extension with the Trail Blazers, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
Multiple other reporters confirmed the news, including Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports, Marc J. Spears of Andscape (Twitter links), and ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter links).
According to Spears, Lillard is expected to put pen to paper tomorrow evening in Las Vegas, where Summer League is currently taking place. As part of the extension, Lillard will pick up the player option he held for 2024/25, says Marks.
As Marks relays, Lillard’s new deal contains a player option for ’26/27, so he’ll be under contract for at least four more seasons, with a player option in the fifth year. Lillard turns 32 next week, so the extension will carry through at least his age-35 season.
Although several reports state that Lillard’s deal will be worth $120MM, those are estimates based on the salary cap increasing significantly over time.
Lillard will get at least a 5% raise on his ’24/25 salary ($48,787,676), so the extension will be worth no less than $106.55MM. His maximum possible raise is 20%, in which case the extension would be worth $121.78MM. But the salary cap would have to be $167.3MM for him to get that full 20% raise, which would represent a huge year-over-year increase — this season’s cap is $123,655,000 cap.
Lillard struggled with injuries last season, appearing in just 29 games (36.4 MPG) with averages of 24.0 PPG, 4.1 RPG and 7.3 APG on .402/.324/.878 shooting. Both his field goal percentage and three-point percentage were career-lows, so clearly the abdominal injury – which required surgery and shut down his season prematurely – was hampering his on-court production.
Prior to his injury struggles in ’21/22, Lillard had been a stalwart performer for Portland, rarely missing games and averaging at least 35.5 MPG in each of his 10 seasons. Lillard has been named to both the All-Star team and All-NBA teams six times apiece during his career, which has been spent entirely with the Blazers.
Sam Amick of The Athletic wrote last week that Lillard still needed to be convinced that the Blazers were intent on competing after a disappointing season saw them finish 27-55 and miss out on the postseason for the first time since 2014. Reconstructing the roster by drafting Shaedon Sharpe, trading for Jerami Grant, signing free agent Gary Payton II, as well as re-signing Jusuf Nurkic and Anfernee Simons evidently was enough for Lillard to once again show his commitment to the only franchise he’s ever known.
Wow
Dame: I want to win a championship in Portland. Build a team around me that can compete
Also dame: pay me every dollar y’all got
They don’t call him dolla for nothing
Lol. That’s a lot of money for a declining player.
Dumb. He is on the back side of the Bell curve and his decline will be steep.
$50m a year, not bad work if you can get it
Yeah, money wins out here and I can’t say I blame him. If he wants a ring he can buy one at a pawn shop when some former player blows through their fortune.
Well deserved!! Fans forget who this man is when healthy.
A man who has never won anything! His lack of desire and skills defensively are the biggest reasons why Portland has always been a loser with him.
Portland hasn’t put much pieces around him for him to win the new front office has added pieces.
You’re a hater lol
teach your kids to play basketball. it clearly pays off
Nearly as dumb as the Wizards signing Beal to that ridiculous contract. This will not age well. You don’t put big money into little guards into their 30s unless they’re Steph Curry.
Yes you can you just need a good front office both are in the primes of their career.
So almost half of the salary cap is going to one player ? Cool good for him but he has no right to complain about the team losing or not doing their part to put talent around him when he’s handicapping the team from doing anything to give him support.
They cried about super teams so this is what you get. Can only have one Max guy per squad unless you want massive tax penalties.
great point. suddenly he feels compelled to stay in Portland with this new deal……until the losing continues. then he’ll want out. like Durant
He’s not like Durant. Don’t insult his personality like that.
fair enough! certainly not yet anyway.
So Dame, what’s a championship worth to you??
$119 million
Here’s $120 million. No championship.
says a dude on his couch making 50k a year
Agreed. And I would agree to not win an NBA championship for way less.
50k is your example of being poor? Nice neighborhood.
Fans cry about players bouncing from team to team and when Dame stays loyal with the Blazers people want to complain about that too. Jesus. I’ll take Dame’s loyalty anyday over that BS Durant and the rest of the Ring Chasers do.
Valid point
Agreed. But Dame can’t now cry about not being on a contender
Y’all say anything. When has he ever cried ? I swear he had something on his IG the other week about loyalty.
Yes he did but it was the opposite of what you think he meant. He agreed with Durant about loyalty because the Nets are doing nothing to get better just like Portland. You need to loyal to the player by putting a good team around him. Portland and Brooklyn will still be non championship contenders again this year.
I would bet a paycheck that Dame does not finish his career in Portland. He signed this contract to maximize his earning potential.
It’s funny (and sad) watching Blazers fans spin all of their moves as being smart or worthwhile when they are fast becoming the Wizards of the West.
He said last night at summer league that hes been hurt for 4.5 years…I really thought they finally put the best team he ever had around him a couple of years ago, but they had some injuries, and I wasnt a fan of the rotations Stotts used. I like the defenders/playmakers they have around him now, but I still think they need another wing shooter, and a backup big that can protect the rim, and defend pick and roll
I also think 1 of Winslow/Little/Brown will likely be moved
I don’t understand what the rush was to give him this extension.
Let us entertain you in a way to which you are no longer accustomed … loyalty. There was a day when players with this level of loyalty to a small market team, or any team would have been lauded as admirable.
You are confusing loyalty with greed.
This is how the Westbrook situation got to where it is today btw
“Damian Lillard is the greatest player in franchise history”
Sir, I have a Clyde Drexler on line one . . .
Good for Dame!
Basketball salaries are out of hand, seriously out of hand. I get that it’s a cap and tied to revenue but man. He’s on pace to make $450 million playing basketball by the time he’s done.
A big corporation executive will make much more money without doing any good to anyone… so if you ask me, hoopers should be paid more!
Never understood how people can be upset about someone else’s salary!
El Don Always Wrong, I’m confused because you’re disparaging the CEO salary? How can you talk out of both sides of your mouth so easily? *(Never understood how people can be upset about someone else’s salary!)*
Here is a lesson you don’t understand. Someone charges $1,000 to fix your sore shoulder or help your car engine run better. You say, “that was $1,000 to massage that spot or to turn that wrench?”
No. It was $50 to massage the spot and turn the wrench. It was $950 to know WHERE to massage and to know WHICH wrench to use. Same with a CEO. You’re limited education or understanding leads you to believe a CEO does nothing “good for anyone.” When in actuality a CEO sees things we don’t understand that helps a business, which employs thousands of people, run efficiently.
TJECK I hear you but for that 450 million dollars over his career he has influenced billions of dollars for the franchise and the NBA in general. Yes the salaries are astronomical and way out of touch, but so are many things like TV contracts and corporate Suites and jersey sales and shoes etc etc.
Other than the MPJ early extension, this extension is worst combination of needless and reckless of any I can think of. DL was already signed through 2024-2025 (after which he’ll turn 35).
Cronin wants to kiss DL’s butt, I get it, but a GM of any team has a duty to the game to know the team’s history. Even if its bimbo owner doesn’t. Bill Walton was the greatest player in Blazer history, and its not debatable; at until they have another MVP winner.
What about Clyde the glide?? Walton was great before the foot but Clyde was consistently keeping the Blazers a contender. Dame is not what he used to be, injuries will not just stop at this age.
Clyde the Glide was amazing but MVP of the league award trumps amazing.
50 million dollars Jesus
The NBA shouldn’t let one guy on the team make that much money. In this case, Dame gets almost 50% of the team cap.
How is POR supposed to put together a competitiva team like that?
How does Dame say he wants to play for a championship with the Blazers? He knows he’s lying to himself and to everyone listening.
Same thing with Bradley Beal. WAS also got tied up with a mega contract and won’t win anything either.
From a business standpoint, I understand the smaller market teams increase revenue with these star players. But from a competitive standpoint, it doesn’t make sense.
It is greed not loyalty. His legacy is set. He ain’t winning 2 rings before he retires.
Fans cried about super teams. This is how you avoid super teams. You can’t have two studs on one team and they are spread throughout the league. This is what you get.
Now of course you have teams that don’t care about the salary cap and go skyrocketing way over it and are willing to pay the astronomical penalties. Probably the only way you can get the owners to approve that last contract. “You guys want to be cheap then be cheap and have a good excuse with the cap for optics.”
But there’s some owners that don’t care and want to spend and win so then there’s an Avenue for that as well. This is the result.
The league is booming, team valuations are at an all time high …….. yet there seems to be something wrong when a single-player, even though he’s a superstar, can take up a good portion of the set annual salary of an entire team.
Or maybe, the NBA (and everyone else should) knows that true and lasting parity isn’t possible for many reasons ……. and that there will always be teams who will do such signings (see TBLAZERS, WIZARDS, etc.) and yet will always wonder why they can’t contend for a title.
I ain’t got a dog in this fight so I won’t say much bout Dame. But I will say this. You pay a man $50M+ per year, that “All I play for is a ring” crap goes up in flames. Any man in this room would put winning aside for a $50M annual salary and he ain’t no different. He just can’t say so into the cameras or he’d get eaten alive. I ain’t never gonna hate on a man for getting that kind of payday, that’s for damn sure. But he is not a spring chicken no more neither, and paying someone that much of your salary cap when he’s on the back 9 of his career isn’t too smart. But hey, congrats on the contract. That’s some big $$$!
With how many players go broke, I say take the money. Always hated the championship over money argument. His contracts can set up his family for generations and generations to come. A championship comes with a little glory and a nice ring. But 450 million + more after endorsements is the way to go. Smart business move and anyone who trashes it is foolish. Even from the blazers standpoint, it’s hard to lure players to that market, so if you have one star willing to be loyal, then you pay him
Better than Drexler? I don’t think so
No player is worth 39% of a team’s salary cap. Considering any team needs 2-3 stars to be a true contender. Players have an abundance of opportunities to make more money besides their contract. No player is worth more than 30% of the salary cap. It’s simple math. Star players can still make plenty.
Dames 2022-23 salary $48,787,676), — this season’s cap is $123,655,000.