Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard says he will sit on the bench but not play if his team is forced to return from the COVID-19 pandemic without a real chance to make the playoffs.
“If we come back and they’re just like, ‘We’re adding a few games to finish the regular season,’ and they’re throwing us out there for meaningless games and we don’t have a true opportunity to get into the playoffs, I’m going to be with my team because I’m a part of the team,” Lillard told Yahoo Sports’ Chris Haynes in an interview Tuesday. “But I’m not going to be participating. I’m telling you that right now.”
The Trail Blazers are currently ninth in the Western Conference with a 29-37 record, 3.5 games back of the Memphis Grizzlies for the final playoff spot. It is not yet known when or if the NBA will be able to resume the 2019-20 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reported Monday that the league is considering returning with only 16 playoff teams. In that scenario, the Trail Blazers would be on the outside looking in.
Lillard wanted to make it clear that he would still report to practice with his team if summoned, he just wouldn’t risk injury playing games. The Trail Blazers opened their facilities in a limited capacity on May 8 and Lillard told Haynes that he’s been training there twice a week to make sure he’s ready to help his team if given the chance.
“At first, I was like, ‘It’s over. I don’t see us coming back.’ And then I just clicked my mind back and thought for the chance that it does come back, I’ve gotta be ready,” Lillard said. “I don’t want to be that guy that when they call us back, and I’m showing up to the temporary training camp out of shape.
“Right now, I’m just in a space where I want to come back and play. And if we start playing, I’ll be ready to play. But if the league says it’s only taking playoff teams, then I’m off to a head start in my summer training.”
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