Portland Trail Blazers: Is LaMarcus Aldridge or Damian Lillard the Face of the Franchise?

Yesterday's "Loopiest Mailbag Ever" unintentionally opened up a semi-serious and interesting topic that we should address posthaste. (Proof that following instincts, even into uncharted and strange territory, can be worthwhile.)

One of the questions dealt with a hypothetical battle royale between Blazer players, which invoked visions of wrestling, Royal Rumbles, and Andre the Giant hoisting everyone over the top rope. Meandering through those images in the piece itself and the comments that followed, we painted LaMarcus Aldridge and Damian Lillard as the main "babyfaces" of the Blazer franchise...The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin of the current era, if you will.

But who is who? This subject bears more examination.

If you were to name one, and only one, of the pair the "Face of the Franchise" for 2014-15, whom would you designate?

Note that we are NOT asking who the better player is. Until he's dethroned and moved out of the center of Portland's offensive scheme (or simply ages out), that's going to be Aldridge. But talent and statistics alone don't make a Face of the Franchise. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was the keystone for the Los Angeles Lakers during Magic Johnson's early years, but Johnson's face became synonymous with the organization well before his play surpassed that of Jabbar.

Has a similar thing happened in Portland? Have Dame's winning manner and series-winning three vaulted him past the steady excellence displayed by Aldridge? Is he the Billboard Blazer now or does Aldridge still reign supreme?

Who is the true Face of the Franchise? Vote and comment below.

--Dave (blazersub@gmail.com)