Blazers' Damian Lillard refutes report of trade request, but wants front office to be 'more urgent'

The answers appeared direct and concise as Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard spoke about the state of the franchise and whether he wants to remain with an organization that he has played with for his entire nine-year NBA career.

Does Lillard plan to request the Trail Blazers trade him, as a report published on Friday morning suggested he would?

"It’s not true," Lillard said following Team USA’s practice on Friday afternoon. "I haven’t made any firm decision on what my future will be."

Does Lillard expect to play for the Blazers next season?

"Yeah," Lillard said. "I expect it."

But will Lillard play for the Blazers?

He stressed "we’re not at that point" about considering other teams. After all, Lillard highlighted "a lot of positives" that have included eight consecutive playoff appearances, two Pacific Division titles and a Western Conference finals appearance. He also expressed affection for the city of Portland and its fanbase. But the fact that Lillard has even expressed the need for more urgency marks a significant pivot point.

During the 2019-20 season, Lillard spoke to USA TODAY Sports and other outlets on why he had no desire to form a super team elsewhere. But after losing to the Denver Nuggets in the first round despite Jamal Murray nursing an ACL injury, Lillard expects the franchise "just to be more urgent about what our next step is and how we move forward."

"We reached that point where it’s not enough," Lillard said. "Do we actually want to win it all? Is that what we’re shooting for, and we got to do things to show that. We have to put action behind that desire to win at that level."

Lillard confirmed that he plans to meet with general manager Neil Olshey and coach Chauncey Billups in Las Vegas. Though Lillard stressed they came to town to support his participation with Team USA for the Tokyo Olympics, he will have plenty to discuss with Olshey and Billups about the franchise’s direction after already having offseason talks with them. Lillard added he had prior talks with Olshey and team governor Jody Allen.

Lillard made one clear point that he presumably will reiterate to Olshey and Allen. Olshey contended this offseason that the Blazers’ first-round playoff exit and poor defensive ranking (29th out of 30 NBA teams) had less to do with roster construction and more to do with coaching. So Olshey and Terry Stotts parted ways before eventually hiring Billups, a Los Angeles Clippers coach and former NBA player.

"We’ve had so many teams in the league that don’t make dramatic changes to their roster. But they change coaches and the team improves maybe because you just needed a fresh voice and somebody new to follow," Lillard said. "Sometimes a coach is that great."

Yet, expect Lillard to tell Olshey that his analysis is wrong.

"I don’t disagree that Chauncey can really change our team and make us a better team and get us going in that direction. But I think if you look at our team as it is going into next season, I don’t see how you can say, 'This is a championship team, we just need a new coach,' " Lillard sad. "We lost in the first round to a team that was hurt."

So where does this leave Lillard and Portland? Though the Blazers might feel the urgency to appease Lillard and rectify their two consecutive first-round exits, they technically have some time. Lillard remains under contract through the 2024-25 season, meaning the Blazers do not have to operate in fear that Lillard could leave as a free agent next offseason without anything in return.

But the Blazers might have to become creative. Though they will have to decide what to do with Carmelo Anthony, Enes Kanter and Zach Collins when they enter the free agent market, the Blazers have about a $120 million payroll. So any significant move might require them to deal All-Star guard C.J. McCollum.

"I’m not sure what I’m going to do," Lillard said. "What I can say is my intentions and my heart has always been set on being in a Portland Trail Blazers uniform for my entire career. But over time, you want to win it all. I want to win it all in a Trail Blazers uniform. But we all have to be making strides toward that."

Follow USA TODAY NBA writer Mark Medina on Twitter, Facebook and Instragram. Subscribe to USA TODAY's various subscription deals.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Damian Lillard refutes report he'll ask Blazers for trade