Williams cited several reasons why he thinks Damian Lillard will not last in Portland despite Dame being big on loyalty and wanting to bring a championship to the team that drafted him. One such reason is the ongoing investigation into the franchise’s general manager’s work conduct. An investigation was opened a few days ago into Neil Olshey centered around alleged workplace misconduct.

Chancey Billups’ rape allegation and Damian Lillard’s shooting slump were also put into consideration by Williams before he made his declaration. He strongly believes that Lillard will soon decide that Portland is not where he needs to be.

Damian Lillard’s performance with the Portland Trail Blazers so far this season

It has been a struggle for Damian Lillard shooting the ball this season, the 2013 Rookie of the Year is averaging career-low numbers in three-point shooting (25.5%) on ten attempts per game and a .365 field goal percentage.

A reason for the drop in Damian Lillard’s shooting could be because of the ball change. The NBA switched from Spalding to Wilson for the 2021-22 season, and several players are having trouble shooting effectively. The league’s shooting percentage is the lowest it’s been in 15 years, as well as the three-point percentage, which is at its lowest this century.

Paul George of the LA Clippers, in an interview on November 4, spoke on how the change of ball will impact shooting.

Another reason for the drop in performance could be the NBA’s rule change regarding offensive players initiating contact through non-basketball moves to draw a foul. Damian Lillard has made only 3.2 attempts per game from the free-throw line in the 11 games he has played so far this season. At this stage of the game last season, Dame had already been sent to the charity stripe 80 times compared to this season’s 30.

The Trail Blazers point guard has expressed his displeasure with the officiating, saying it is unacceptable. All of these factors could impact Damian Lillard’s decision to stay, and things might turn out just as Jay Williams has predicted.

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