LAS VEGAS — Damian Lillard acknowledged he was wowed by the Clippers’ power play Friday night to bring Kawhi Leonard and Paul George to Los Angeles, but the Trail Blazers star was far from intimidated. Yes, the Clippers appear formidable, and upon learning the news, Lillard said he immediately texted former teammate and now Clippers reserve forward Maurice Harkless, to tell him, “Y’all going to be nice.” But as the basketball world imagined the star-studded Clippers and newly fortified Lakers in the Western Conference finals, Lillard held to himself a bit of knowledge about the Blazers. “This” he repeated on three separate occasions Saturday, “is what people don’t understand …” What they don’t understand is Lillard has been making some important moves of his own behind the scenes — moves that could translate to the Blazers entering the conversation as contenders to win the Western Conference. Yes, the Clippers and Lakers now have some of the biggest names in the NBA. Yes, Utah became a factor by adding Mike Conley, Bojan Bogdanovic and Ed Davis. And the Nuggets, Rockets and Warriors all return enough firepower to be considered dangerous. But the Blazers have been busy, too. They added shooters (Rodney Hood, Kent Bazemore, Anthony Tolliver), defense (Hassan Whiteside) and gambled that a youngster will blossom (Mario Hezonja). On opening night, there will be three new starters and seven departures from last year’s team that advanced to the Western Conference finals. “Obviously, you look around at what’s happening for other teams — the Clippers, the Lakers, Brooklyn — and it jumps off the page. But I think we got better as well,” Lillard said. “We had a great team the past few years, but now we got a different team. The way I look at it, sometimes change is good.” And here is where the behind-the-scenes stuff comes in. As Lillard said, change can be good. So it was with that in mind that he called Whiteside, the Blazers’ biggest acquisition of the summer. Some have panned the Blazers’ trade for Whiteside because of his checkered past. Throughout his career he has been a dominant shot blocker, elite rebounder and proficient scorer, but he has also at times been a headache. He has, at times, complained. At times, he lacked effort. At times, he lost his temper. And for how talented he is, he has, at times, lost his starting position in Miami. But where others saw problems, Lillard saw potential. So he drew on the experience of a relationship developed with Whiteside over random encounters from the last three summers. One in Miami. One in Portland. And one in Las Vegas. He understands the book on Whiteside, but he also understands Whiteside the person. So he picked up the phone and started the 2019-20 Trail Blazers season. “It’s going to be a challenge going forward,” Lillard said. “But I’ve already accepted what it is. I’m ready to bring it together.” The hidden truth about the Trail Blazers’ run of six consecutive trips to the playoffs has been the finesse and force with which Lillard has worked to create one of the NBA’s best cultures, which in turn gets the most out of players. He has an innate ability to read teammates, and then has the sensitivity to reach them. He inspires with his work ethic, sets an example with his toughness, and he influences the mood with an unwavering outlook of positivity. Those inside the organization point to Lillard’s leadership just as much as his play for the reason Portland has almost annually exceeded the win totals of preseason oddsmakers. Lillard’s guidance has helped turn around the careers of Jusuf Nurkic, Hood and Harkless, all of whom credit Portland, and Lillard, for showing them the value of team and the joy of pulling together for a common goal. “He never has an off day as far as attitude,” Hood said. “A lot of guys in his position care about themselves first. But he is always checking up on guys. I remember coming in to do some late-night shooting with my wife and he would be in there with Anfernee (Simons), taking him to side. “And stuff like him texting me after a good game, a bad game, telling me how important I am to the team. Those are things you don’t … it’s rare. He’s a rare leader in this league. And that’s a big reason why Portland has sustained its success. He’s leading the way.” This season, with seven players departed, much of the team’s vaunted culture and chemistry went with it. And with Whiteside’s mercurial past, Lillard knows how he handles the locker room in general, and Whiteside specifically, could be one of the key factors in which way the season goes. So he knew it was a big moment for the upcoming season when he picked up the phone recently to reach Whiteside. “Hassan might have a little temper at times, he might be hard to deal with at times,” Lillard said. “But that’s something for me to be excited about it.” When Lillard called Whiteside, he was direct. “I said, ‘Listen, I understand you are going to get mad sometimes. I understand you are going to get frustrated with Coach. I understand that if that is who you are, that is who you are,”’ Lillard recalled. “But this you need to understand: I’m here to bring the best out of you. If we are going to win, I’m going to need you, and you are going to need me.” He was able to talk so frankly with Whiteside because this is not a new relationship. In fact, Lillard and Whiteside have met for the past three summers in three different cities. Each encounter was unplanned and organic and evolved into more than just small talk. “Oh, we know each other real well,” Lillard said. In summer 2017, Lillard vacationed in Miami and happened to post a picture on social media. Whiteside saw it and invited him to his home. “He was like, ‘Man, come to the house, I’ll have my chef make us some good food,” Lillard recalled. “So we ended up hanging out … and he was like, yeah, man, I’m trying to get to Portland. And I was like, ‘We have a center (Nurkic) ‘ … because I would never go behind Nurk’s back and be like, ‘Come to Portland!’ I just don’t get down like that.” Last summer, Whiteside was in Portland, and Lillard and Whiteside went over to CJ McCollum’s home, where Lillard learned that Whiteside used the Trail Blazers while playing basketball video games. Then this May, when Lillard was in Las Vegas, he received a message from Whiteside, who again saw one of Lillard’s social media posts. He asked for Lillard’s hotel and room number. “I’m thinking this dude is not going to be like, coming to the room,” Lillard said. “So I’m in the room with my cousins, and (he knocks on a table) … I had forgotten by that time that I told him what room I’m in. My cousin went to open the door, and he comes walking in! This dude actually came to my room. He actually came. So we kicked it for a couple hours.” So it was with that familiarity that Lillard talked so frankly with Whiteside. It helped, too, Lillard said, that he has experience dealing with tough personalities. “The thing people don’t understand is I grew up around real crazy people,” Lillard said. “Like, in a real neighborhood. So I know, not how to manage them, but I know how to work with people. I have the approach of I’m really crazy, too. Like, that stuff don’t scare me, don’t move me at all. But I always let people know I have their best interest, and people accept it, because people know I’m not fake about shit. I just tell it how it is.” And that’s how it came to be that Lillard outlined to Whiteside how he envisioned this season. “I said, ‘So this is what this is going to come down to: If in the middle of the game, you are not getting the ball and you mad, and you felt like somebody should have done something, you come and say something to me,” Lillard said. “And if Coach is getting on you, or Coach takes you out and you get mad at Coach, me and you have to be able to communicate. Even if we argue, that’s fine. But we have to be able to get through to each other. That’s going to be a part of this. We have to be able to communicate.” Whiteside, according to Lillard, said “OK.” Unofficially, the start of the NBA season began Friday night when the Clippers trumpeted their arrival. But that clamoring also stirred something inside the Blazers. Once again, the Blazers are being overlooked, and that’s just fine with them. “When I see stuff like (George and Leonard going to L.A.), I automatically feel challenged,” Lillard said. “It’s going to be a topic. It’s going to be a discussion because two star players are joining up in a market like that. So I just take it as a challenge. It’s almost exciting, like, another team is expected to pass you by, so it gives you something to look forward to, something to be excited about.” The Blazers likely are not done revamping their roster. They have two roster spots open and can offer minimum contracts to free agents. They will likely pursue a veteran center and an experienced point guard. Then, they will head into training camp with a projected starting lineup of Lillard, McCollum, Hood, Zach Collins and Whiteside, with the second unit featuring Simons, Bazemore, Hezonja and Tolliver. Nurkic, meanwhile, is loosely targeting a February return. “The West is even better, which is unbelievable,” Collins said. “But I think we are up there. We traded away a lot of good players, but we got a lot of good players back. It’s just about how well we mesh. If we get that down, we will be good.” The meshing has already started, the leader with the finesse and force reaching out to Whiteside. Lillard cautioned that before Whiteside is labeled, he should be understood. He came into the league in Sacramento, without a strong leader at guard. And in Miami, once Dwyane Wade left, there were players trying to figure out how to lead. In Portland, he will be welcomed, appreciated and encouraged to be himself, as long as he puts the team first. If that happens, the Blazers believe they might have traded for one of the league’s best centers, vaulting them into the conversation for the West’s elite. For the leader who has been working behind the scenes, it’s a question of whether Whiteside this season makes his name with his play, not his attitude. “I know Hassan well enough that I’m literally not worried about it at all,” Lillard said. https://theathletic.com/1065473/201...-been-making-his-own-moves-behind-the-scenes/
So Whiteside told Dame he's trying to get to Portland, but didn't take our offer to come to Portland......... Ya, BS
Actually you do because there is offensive and defensive rebounds. Which giving up offensive rebounds were a huge part of their problem.
Ok how did you come to that conclusion? ML has struggled to even make it off the bench for going on 8 years, Ive got no hate for the guy but he’s a fringe NBA player at best at this point. He had two good games which was fun, but his good games didnt help them win. Whiteside is an elite rebounder and shot-blocker, definitely not the shooter ML is but he’s a better more useful player than ML.
I think you’re reading this situation wrong. I see that comment as a sign of Whiteside’s immaturity. He goes to Miami, things get tough, he butts heads with Spoelstra and some of his teammates, and the fans get down on him. He does what a typical teenager does: think about that other offer and fantasize how much easier and better things would be there. I don’t see BS. I see Dame having his hands full this season.
I totally get your point. I think it is the combination of more aggressive shooters in Baze and Hood along with the lib threat of whiteside that will make it work. Only time will tell.
If Meyers has a quicker release with no hesitation, I would agree. He got away with it for one game, but won’t fora full season. Last time he tried to speed up his shot his % went down. And, when Nurk gets back there would have been. No minutes for Leonard. Whiteside is a placeholder For Nurk.
