Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard had been the subject of trade rumors this offseason and will likely to be as the 2018-2019 season get underway, but he would prefer to stay with the Blazers for his entire career, according to The Athletic’s Michael Scotta.

“That would be an honor to be a lifetime Blazer,” Damian Lillard said at the NBA 2K launch in New York.

“Not a lot of guys get to play for one organization for their entire career. Obviously, I love playing for the Blazers. I love living in the city. I feel like I’ve established a connection with the people and the culture of the city just as much as I’ve done on the basketball court, so that’s important. But, as we know, it’s a business and a lot of times organizations have other plans, and sometimes players change their stance on that. But to be a lifetime Blazer, that would be great. I’m all on board for it.”

Lillard also enjoys playing with his close friend and teammate CJ McCollum, and knows that their chemistry to key to the success of the team while also realizing the Blazers need more than that to win.

“I think as far as me and CJ, our friendship is so strong that it allows us to play really well together on the court, and we get our job done every night,” Lillard continued. “But when you talk about winning the championship and competing in the playoffs against teams like Golden State, Houston and San Antonio and all those guys, it’s a group effort. We’ve all got to be able to count on each other to compete at that level. Our team, we’ve got a lot of guys that care and a lot of guys that work hard. We’ve just got to keep improving.”

Portland Trail Blazers superstar point guard Damian Lillard has reportedly requested another meeting with team owner Paul Allen, according to the Oregonian’s John Canzano.

“In fact, Lillard may have already requested a follow-up meeting with owner Paul Allen, the source indicated. Apparently, the source said, Lillard’s agent Aaron Goodwin is whispering as much. If so, great. Because Goodwin might seize on the good news and utilize Thursday’s All-NBA announcement to push that Allen-Lillard meeting into fruition.”

This meeting follows a January meeting between the two in which they discussed the future of the franchise.

“The two-time All-Star made it clear, though, that he has championship aspirations and wanted to fulfill those lofty goals during the remaining years of his prime window” ESPN’s Chris Haynes reported at the time.

San Antonio Spurs power forward LaMarcus Aldridge reportedly reached out to former Portland Trail Blazers teammate Damian Lillard regarding a return to Rip City, according to Bleacher Report’s Ken Berger.

Aldridge reached out before Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich addressed the situation with Aldridge.

Per the report, Aldridge asked Lillard to talk with Blazers general manager Neil Olshey about calling San Antonio to discuss a possible trade that would land him back with the Blazers.

“You can never say done because everybody thought that the Aldridge thing was over and that there was no chance to salvage that,” a source said. “Pop went in and smoothed it over. You can’t underestimate the power of the Pop in these situations.”

Popovich said, back in January, that Aldridge requested a trade last offseason, but didn’t say which teams were mentioned in the conversation.

After Popovich addressed the situation with Aldrridge, the forward went on to have his best season in San Antonio, averaging 23.1 points, 8.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.2 blocks last season.