Shoals: Damian Lillard Can Help Blazers Escape Stalled Narrative

Bethlehem Shoals of Free Darko fame previews the 2013-14 NBA season for GQ.com, asking this question about the Portland Trail Blazers.

What else is there to say about the Trail Blazers?

I live in this city. People ask me about this team all the time. I say the same thing: They are too good to be bad, too bad to be good, and either the most exciting or the most aimless match-up for teams visiting town. LaMarcus Aldridge is too good to trade away for nothing and not good enough to be the kind of All-Star who strikes fear into visitors; he's not good enough to fetch a pretty penny in trade value but too good to let go and cut losses. Damian Lillard's story is going to be as much about escaping this narrative - and allowing Portland fans to really taste the greatness - as it is actually propelling the team to those competitive heights.

Check out his whole team-by-team preview right here.

-- Ben Golliver | benjamin.golliver@gmail.com | Twitter