Lillard to opt out adidas shoe deal, detonating bidding war with rivals

This comes out a week after I get those crazy quicks (the exact same ones he was rocking during warmups). Hmm

 

I'm kind of hoping he stays with Adidas and gets a signature shoe.

 

I hope to GOD he goes Nike... I want to be able to wear Lillard shoes at work!

 

Fuck McDonalds, man! I work for the KING!

 

What an awesome idea for Lillard? Shoes from somebody who had his best runs in the late 1990s.

[video=youtube;bOdpX6dcrU4]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOdpX6dcrU4[/video]

 

Hahaha! Repped!

 

Report: Damian Lillard Will Opt out of Adidas Contract, Become Shoe Free Agent

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/...out-of-adidas-contract-become-shoe-free-agent



Any Portland Trail Blazers fans skimming the headlines for news of Damian Lillard will probably do a double-take when seeing his name next to the phrase "opt out."

Fear not, Blazer faithful; Lillard is only checking out the open market when it comes to his footwear.

Per Chris Haynes of CSN Northwest: "Lillard will be able to opt out of his shoe contract at the end of the basketball season and either renegotiate a more lucrative deal with adidas, or open negotiations with Nike, Brand Jordan, Reebok or Under Armor."

Lillard signed a deal with adidas as a rookie, but thanks to his impressive early-career accomplishments, he'll soon be enjoying newfound liberty when it comes to his kicks.

Haynes reports Lillard reached incentives—including winning the Rookie of the Year award and earning an All-Star nod—in his original contract that allow him to escape from his original agreement. Now that he's practically a household name, expect him to rake in the big bucks.

Lillard has come a long way in a short time, both in terms of his celebrity and his footwear.

Per Aaron Falk of the Salt Lake Tribune, the point guard noted over All-Star weekend how profoundly his life had changed since leaving college:

Two years ago, I was in Ogden, Utah, going to class, wearing the same shoes every day. Now everybody wants an autograph. People want pictures when I go to dinner. It’s completely changed, but one of my coaches always used to tell me when you work hard, you’re going to get results.

It's safe to assume he'll have more than one pair of shoes for the foreseeable future.

With his company's headquarters in Oregon, it's tough to see Nike co-founder Phil Knight holding back the dollars it might take to secure a deal with Lillard. After all, when you're single-handedly outfitting the Oregon Ducks with 438 (rough estimate) different jerseys and paying for space-age facilities, what's another $100 million or so?

Before you roll your eyes at that figure, remember that Derrick Rose is making nearly twice that much from adidas. With D-Rose down and out, it's possible Lillard's current shoe company could put on a full-court press to keep him in the fold as the face of the brand.

Then again, perhaps adidas is a little gun shy about doling out serious cash after the way things have gone for Rose.

We don't know who it'll be just yet, but somebody is going to pay Lillard an awful lot of money to sport new sneakers.

My hope: Converse. We've gone far too long without any React juice.

 

Re: Report: Damian Lillard Will Opt out of Adidas Contract, Become Shoe Free Agent

Dude.... this was posted last night. It's still on the front page. All you have to do is look.

 

Next up, the bobble head bidding wars

 

I would like to see Lillard go to Puma. Seems like everyone is going with Nike these days.

 

I really hope he stays with Adidas.. Fuck Nike.

 

I used to be about Asics and Reebok.

 

I don't care who he goes with, I just hope they help build his star status. He needs his own shoe.

 

I think he's working towards that with branding his status as a player during all-star weekend and other NBA promos.