LAS VEGAS — Portland Trail Blazers chair Jody Allen has never ignored attempts by Damian Lillard to reach her to discuss the state of the franchise as reported by a Thursday article in the New York Post, according to the superstar and his agent, Aaron Goodwin.
“That never happened,” Goodwin told The Oregonian/OregonLive on Friday. “We have a great relationship with Allen.”
The New York Post quoted an anonymous team source as saying: “Damian wanted to sit down and have a conversation with Jody about the team and she didn’t return his call. Then he tried to email her. Eventually she just never responded and put him in touch with Bert. When you own a team, there are critical key decisions to make and you should be the one involved in making the decisions.”
Lillard told The Oregonian/OregonLive Thursday night following the Blazers’ summer league loss to Detroit at the Thomas & Mack Center that the portions of the New York Post’s article pertaining to him were not true. But he declined at the time to be directly quoted.
On Friday, Lillard issued a statement to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports and then later agreed to allow his quote from Thursday to be used by The Oregonian/OregonLive.
“I saw the article,” Lillard said Thursday night. “Every time I’ve reached out to her, it’s never been a problem.”
Lillard’s statement to Haynes was more elaborate on the subject: “I’m not sure where that story came from. Every time I’ve ever reached out to Jody, she has always taken time to speak with me. I never sent an email or none of that. I have a great relationship with management and ownership. My agent, Aaron Goodwin, speaks with ownership and management on a regular basis. This is a non-story.”
Blazers management declined to comment on the subject. But according to a team source: “It is unequivocally false. Jody, Dame and the organization are completely aligned.”
Goodwin was adamant Friday morning that he and Lillard had a great relationship with the Blazers and added that he and general manager Joe Cronin had been having ongoing talks regarding a contract extension for the six-time All-Star.
By early afternoon, Lillard had signed a two-year extension with the Blazers worth about $122 million. He is now under contract for five years for roughly $255 million.
Another source said it was ridiculous to believe that Allen would ignore Lillard of all people especially given how much time she has spent around the organization.
Allen was present for most of the Blazers games late last season, when the team on the floor more resembled the current squad competing in the Las Vegas summer league than a typical NBA roster. That reality led to many ugly blowouts that Allen traveled down from the Seattle area to witness.
Also in attendance for most of those games was Lillard.
Allen was also present at the team’s facility on June 23 during the NBA draft when the Blazers selected Kentucky guard Shaedon Sharpe with the No. 7 pick.
Cronin, following the introduction of Sharpe and second-round pick Jabari Walker, said that Allen has been ever-present and involved with the organization. He added that it was insulting that many believe she lacks passion or interest in the franchise that her brother, Paul Allen, purchased in 1988 and cherished until the day he died in 2018.
Lillard, 31, on numerous occasions has made it clear that he wants to remain in Portland, but he has also said that he wants the team to be aggressive in building a contender around him.
The idea, a source said, that Allen would not talk to Lillard about the organization or anything else simply doesn’t make sense.
— Aaron Fentress | afentress@Oregonian.com | @AaronJFentress (Twitter), @AaronJFentress (Instagram), @AaronFentress (Facebook).
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