Enes Kanter on Damian Lillard: 'He Wants to Win It All in Portland'

Enes Kanter believes Damian Lillard, one of his favorite all-time teammates, is still loyal to Portland.

Jack Winter

Enes Kanter on Damian Lillard: 'He Wants to Win It All in Portland'
Enes Kanter on Damian Lillard: 'He Wants to Win It All in Portland' /

In February, Enes Kanter claimed that opposing big men were so impressed by Damian Lillard that they'd routinely tell him how lucky he was to be teammates with Portland's' franchise player during games.

A few months later, after another disappointing first-round exit from the playoffs leaves the Trail Blazers at an offseason crossroads, Kanter is still singing the praises of Lillard – and even easing growing concerns about "maybe the most loyal player in the league" going back on his word to play his entire career in Rip City.

During an appearance on SiriusXM NBA Radio on Monday, Kanter reiterated that he believes Lillard still wants to bring a title to Portland more than anything else.

"I think for him he wants to do it all in Portland," he said of Lillard. "He doesn't care about the big market, big city, this and that. He wants to bring a championship to Portland and the state of Oregon."

Calling him "one of the best teammates" he's played with, Kanter also expressed frustration at the Blazers' inability to beat the Denver Nuggets in the playoffs despite Lillard's awesome season-long efforts.

"The one thing that made me really frustrated is that we couldn't do it for Dame, because this guy gives it all every night," Kanter said. "Every night he's hurt, tired, he's going out there and trying to do the best he can to just win every game and give us 100 percent. After the playoffs, I was very frustrated and very sad because we couldn't do it for Dame."

Kanter was benched midway through the first round due to his immense struggles defending newly-minted MVP Nikola Jokic, hardly a surprise given his career-long deficiencies on that side of the ball.

A free agent this summer, Kanter filled in admirably for Jusuf Nurkic when the Blazers' starting center was out for 10 weeks with a broken wrist. Blazers general manager Neil Olshey suggested during his season-ending press conference that Portland's bench needs more defensive-oriented players, a nod that Kanter is likely to continue his career elsewhere going forward.

Regardless, it's safe to say Kanter will be rooting for Lillard. He's clearly made quite an impression on Kanter during their two shared seasons in Rip City.

READ MORE: Don't Count on 'Melo, Kanter Returning to Blazers

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Jack Winter
JACK WINTER

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