Portland’s Damian Lillard ‘not in a rush’ to return after abdomen injury, surgery
At least for now, Damian Lillard isn’t in a hurry to get back out onto the court.
Lillard underwent surgery earlier this month to fix an abdomen injury that’s been bothering him since the Tokyo Olympics last summer, something that has sidelined him for at least six weeks.
Whenever he’s finally ready to return, he will — but not a moment before.
“I'm just a week from surgery. We said we'll reevaluate my situation weeks out, six to eight weeks, and we'll talk about it then. But I'm not in a rush,” Lillard said, via The Associated Press. “My number one goal is to win a championship. I've got to be in the best form of myself to make that happen and to be a part of that. So I'm not in a rush. We'll talk about whatever that timeline is when we get to that point.”
Lillard underwent an MRI in December, which confirmed the lower abdominal tendinopathy that had been an issue for months. He has missed 11 games this season due to the injury, and received a cortisone injection to try to manage the pain. That, though, didn’t allow him to return for long.
He last played on Dec. 31.
Lillard has averaged 24 points, 7.3 assists and 4.1 rebounds so far this season, his 10th in Portland.
“It was just one of those things where I've always had control over how I moved and everything, and it had reached a point where my body couldn't do what my mind wanted it to do, and go places that I wanted it to go,” Lillard said, via The Associated Press. “At some point you've got to play chess, you've got to make decisions that suit you for the long haul and not just right now.”
Lillard: 'I’m not gonna play for no draft pick'
The Trail Blazers are currently just 19-26 so far this season and are in 10th place in the Western Conference — which would have them playing in the play-in tournament if the season ended today.
With a loaded Western Conference, and Portland 16.5 games back from the first-place Phoenix Suns, it’s fair to question how far a playoff push would actually get the Trail Blazers. A better draft pick, one could argue, would be much more valuable in the long run — especially without Lillard available.
That mindset, though, won’t fly with Lillard.
If Portland starts playing for a draft pick, Lillard said he wants absolutely no part of it.
“I mean, if we're gonna play for a draft pick it wouldn't make sense to me. Because I'm not gonna play for no draft pick. I'm just not capable of that,” he said, via The Associated Press. “So it'd be best if that was what we were doing, or what was decided, then it wouldn't make sense for me to play.”
