Flannery: Lillard Has What It Takes to be a Franchise Player

Paul Flannery of SBNation interviewed Portland Trail Blazers point guard Damian Lillard about his shifting role on a redesigned team. In the profile Flannery created, he praised Lillard's initiative in supporting his teammates at Las Vegas Summer League, as well as organizing a group bonding trip to San Diego. Lillard told Flannery, "Now that they know me from that trip, they’re going to know that everything I say comes from a good place."

Although the article centers on Lillard's franchise player potential, Lillard himself downplayed his involvement in deciding that the team would be his.

"People say stuff like, he’s not a franchise player or this guy is a franchise player, but the franchise makes that decision. I didn’t make that decision. The franchise did. It’s more than being the best player on the team, especially with a young team like the one we have." Lillard said. When asked about the accountability that comes with leading a new group, Lillard responded "I can handle it.  I'll be fine".

The masterful piece can be found in full at SBNation.com.

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Hat tip to our own Dan Graves, who posted Flannery's article in the Fanshots.