Damian Lillard’s Agent Fires Back at George Karl

Following criticism from former NBA coach George Karl that Trail Blazers point guard Damian Lillard is focusing too much on his brand, Lillard’s agent, Aaron Goodwin fired back, per Chris Haynes of ESPN.

“That’s silly. I have always loved and respected George, way back when he coached Gary Payton. But with that observation, he sounds like an idiot. He couldn’t get anyone in this league to agree with him on that assessment. If it’s either the coach or the point guard, the point guard runs the coaches plays…… I guess that explains him becoming a writer.”

This could, perhaps, be seen as throwing Trail Blazers head coach Terry Stotts under the bus in light of Portland’s struggles, but it is more likely meant to highlight that team difficulties are not as binary as Karl suggests.

Stotts, who Karl exempted from blame for the Trail Blazers’ poor performance this season, played for Karl with the Montana Golden Nuggets of the Continental Basketball Association from 1980-83, and later joined Karl’s coaching staff with the Seattle Super Sonics and Milwaukee Bucks, so the two of them go way back. If the Trail Blazers’ struggles fall to either the coach or the point guard, it makes sense for Karl to back Stotts. However; the dichotomy is faulty to begin with.

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