Tag: Damian Lilliard

Layup Lines: Would you rather chase rings or chase bags?

The truth behind chasing rings is not everyone can do it.

Welcome to Layup Lines, our daily NBA newsletter where we’ll prep you for a tip-off of tonight’s action, from what to watch to bets to make. Subscribe here to get it delivered to your inbox every afternoon.

J.R. Smith was a guest on an episode of the No Chill with Gilbert Arenas podcast that aired this week. Arenas and fellow host Josiah Johnson sparked an interesting conversation with Smith about the money vs. rings debate.

Here’s what Smith had to say about Damian Lillard and Bradley Beal, who have remained loyal to the teams that drafted them — teams that could offer them more money — rather than forcing their way onto teams better suited to contend for championships.

“I love Dame. I love his game. I respect him for doing what he’s doing. But at the same time, it’s like, you’re just going to rot in Portland bro? Like, you are unbelievable. …

“Brad! You nice! I’m not about to rot in D.C. Like, it’s a nice place. The city is nice, but…my career. I’m trying to win bro.”

However, when Johnson chimed in with the $250 million price tag on Beal’s recent contract extension, Smith had to re-think what he was saying. And the truth is, all of us would.

It’s cute to think we’d all sacrifice a few tens of millions of dollars for the sake of winning, but none of us can definitively say we’d do that unless we were faced with that decision. Just because you team up with other star players doesn’t mean you automatically win a championship — just ask the former Nets trio from a year ago that’s now all but split.

The truth is, jumping teams to chase rings isn’t a real thing for max players in their primes who aren’t named LeBron James or Kevin Durant. Chasing rings is only something role players or players in decline do. Outside of them, only the elite of the elite can actually pull it off, because only those players swing the fortunes of a team so drastically to make it worth the risk. And if that’s what they want to do, good for them.

As for the others, you can’t blame them for not wanting to sacrifice the goodwill (and massive paydays) they’ve built in one city for something that isn’t guaranteed anyway. I’m not necessarily saying chasing bags is the way to go, but KD to Golden State was a sure thing. LeBron to Miami was a sure thing.

Bradley Beal or Damian Lillard bolting for teams that don’t already have one of those top five players only sounds good in theory. They wouldn’t be automatic champions. So the alternative is trying to build something where they are, which is kind of admirable. And if it doesn’t work out, they can still chase the ring somewhere else when their prime is over.

The Tip-Off

Some NBA goodness from around the USA TODAY Sports network.

Jim Rassol-USA TODAY Sports

I’m sure Jimmy Butler would have loved for Beal or Lillard to join him Miami next season, but since they’re both content with staying put, he’ll have to continue shouldering a giant load.

Preparing for that, Butler hit the gym with renowned skills coach Chris Brickley. And after the video hit the Twitter streets, all anyone could talk about was Butler’s hair because, well, let’s just say it’s a lot longer than when we last saw him. The internet had jokes about his new locs, as our guy Sykes wrote:

“No, you’re not tripping. Jimmy’s hair didn’t grow a whole 12 inches in the span of just a couple of months since we last saw him. That hair is, in fact, not his own hair.

He went and got some extensions. Why? Who knows. But he got them. There’s a whole video showing the process.

It’s like magic, y’all. This caught so many people off guard. But the jokes? The jokes were absolutely incredible.”

One to Watch

(All odds via Tipico.)

Sarah Gordon/The Day via AP

Seattle Storm (+135) at Connecticut Sun (-3.5, -108), O/U 158.5, 7 PM ET

I’m rolling with the Sun in this one against the spread. They’re riding a three-game winning streak and have a 2-0 record against the Storm this season, winning those games by an average of nine points.

Shootaround

— The Warriors owe it to Steph Curry and their core to prioritize the present.

— Former Wizards draftee Cassius Winston has signed a contract with FC Bayern Munich.

— Mark Jackson thinks the Knicks could have beaten MJ’s Bulls if they hadn’t traded him for Doc Rivers.

[listicle id=1943298]

Damian Lillard rips Skip Bayless for being a ‘joke’ and uses clown emoji

Oh boy.

Undisputed personality Skip Bayless has been called out by athletes, teams and others many times before, from Portland Trail Blazers guard C.J. McCollum to the New Orleans Pelicans to Ezekiel Elliott’s mom.

Time to add McCollum’s backcourt-mate Damian Lillard to the mix.

Bayless spent Monday ripping Lillard on the FOX Sports show, wondering if he is “That Guy,” as in a superstar in the NBA (the answer is: he is. End of story).

Lillard responded on Twitter when Bayless teased his appearance: “I have never been buying nothing about you fam. You a joke. And after our private convo full of back pedaling you will never have my respect.”

He added a clown emoji at the end for emphasis. What’s noteworthy here is he notes they’ve spoken away from the cameras and social media, and that it was very different:

Here’s Bayless around the 3:40 mark discussing Lillard:

Oh boy.

[jwplayer l8fXl8Bu-q2aasYxh]

Bronny James named his top-five players in the NBA after his dad

On a live-stream playing NBA 2K, Bronny recently named his top-five players in the NBA excluding his father.

[jwplayer HeEfptFZ]

LeBron James has reigned atop the NBA as arguably the best player in the game for several years now and, remarkably after 17 seasons, the four-time MVP has shown no signs of slowing down anytime soon.

James was averaging 25.7 points, 10.6 assists and 7.9 rebounds per game with the Los Angeles Lakers prior to the season suspension on March 11. He led the NBA in assists and was 13th in scoring while many believe he was in the conversation for the MVP award.

By many metrics, James still remains a top-five player in the NBA. Of course, his eldest son, Bronny, certainly believes he is in a class of his own. Bronny recently named his top-five players in the NBA excluding his father while on a live-stream playing NBA 2K.

Top-five besides my dad? Giannis, James Harden, Dame, A.D. and K.D. No order, no order.

Bronny later commented on the post by House of Highlights and added that he forgot Kawhi Leonard, which appeared to be the biggest snub from his list. Other than that, the list looked to be pretty sound, though fans of Stephen Curry and Luka Doncic may want to have a word with him.

[lawrence-related id=18289,18774,12898]

[vertical-gallery id=14282]

Nassir Little, Damian Lillard vent frustration over missed call

The Trail Blazers are fuming after a missed goaltending call allowed the Jazz to walk away with a 117-114 win on Friday night.

Nassir Little, Damian Lillard and the rest of the Portland Trail Blazers were upset Friday night after NBA referee Josh Tiven admitted his officiating crew missed a key goaltending call against Rudy Gobert that allowed the Utah Jazz to win.

With less than 15 seconds left in the game, and the Trail Blazers trailing by two points, Lillard drove toward the rim for a layup attempt. As Lillard approached the basket, his shot hit the backboard and was then swatted away by Gobert — a clear goaltending violation.

Afterward, Tiven said the play was not reviewable since it was not called.

It was not reviewable since no goaltending call was made on the floor. Goaltending is only reviewable if we actually call it. The call needs to be made for goaltending to be reviewable. We’ve since looked at it via postgame video review, and unfortunately saw that we missed the play, and a goaltending violation should have been called.

Following the play, Lillard was visibly livid with the officiating crew, demanding that it be reviewed on the floor. Lillard had to be held back by team officials and unloaded on the referees during his postgame media availability in Utah.

Three referees out there and they don’t call it. I don’t want to see no report about, ‘Oh, we should have called it.’ They cost us the game. We’re in the playoff race and they cost us the game on an easy call. … There is no way to take the sting out [of the loss], we can’t have the game back. They cost us the game. It’s a loss on our record and we’re in a playoff race and we need every game that we can get.

Lillard scored a team-high 42 points in the loss as the Trail Blazers fell to 24-29 on the season, dropping two-and-a-half games back of the Memphis Grizzlies in eighth place in the Western Conference.

Though Little was not with the team due to an ankle injury, the Trail Blazers rookie, like the rest of the team, sounded off on social media following the frustrating loss.

[lawrence-related id=11455,11391,11361]