All-Star point guard Damian Lillard is expected to sign a four-year, $191 million supermax extension with the Portland Trail Blazers this summer, according to Yahoo Sports’ Chris Haynes.
As Haynes noted, Lillard would be eligible for the supermax if he is named to one of the three All-NBA teams.
Lillard is signed through 2020-21 and is owed more than $61 million over the next two seasons, according to Spotrac. He would turn 35 in the summer of 2025 when the potential extension expires.
“We’ll focus on the [contract] later,” Lillard said of an extension after Monday night’s season-ending 119-117 overtime loss to the Golden State Warriors in Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals, per Haynes.
Lillard is coming off one of his best years, as he averaged 25.8 points, 6.9 assists and 4.6 rebounds per game in 2018-19. He shot 44.4 percent from the field and 36.9 percent from three-point range.
His remarkable season was highlighted by a 50-point outburst and a series-clinching shot against the Oklahoma City Thunder in the first round.
Portland made its deepest postseason run since 2000, advancing to the Western Conference Finals before falling to Golden State. Despite being swept, the Trail Blazers led the two-time defending champs for 101 minutes in the series and held 15-plus-point leads in each of the final three games.
The series saw Lillard play through a rib injury, according to ESPN.com’s Tim MacMahon. The four-time All-Star, who averaged 22.3 points per game on 37.1 percent shooting in the series, declined to use his injury as an excuse for a subpar showing, though.
As other stars have joined forces to create superteams in hopes of winning a championship, Lillard has said on a number of occasions that he is committed to Portland.
In October 2016, he said he had “too much pride” to join a superteam. Lillard then made it clear last summer that he “love[s]” the city and the organization. He also told Michael Scotto of The Athletic in September 2018 that it “would be an honor to be a lifetime Blazer.”
He told Haynes earlier this year he was not willing “to sell myself out for (championships).
Given that the Trail Blazers were knocking on the doorstep of the Finals, Lillard figures to have the opportunity to contend for a championship in Portland.
Courtesy: Bleacher Report
