As rumors continue to swirl about where Portland Trailblazers star Damian Lillard might end up next season, Lillard has stepped forward to deny a report that he would be willing to forgo paychecks in order to be on a championship team.
The original report came from TrueHoops Henry Abbot, who tweeted that “Damian Lillard is willing to forgo paychecks to get to a title team, if it comes to that.” Lillard replied with a simple facepalm emoji before engaging in a back-and-forth with Abbot regarding what Lillard essentially called a false report. Keep in mind, Abbot is the reporter who claimed that a Lillard trade request was imminent.
Abbot retorted by saying he’s credible because his account is called “True Hoop.”
“Who names their site TrueHoop? My whole career is about the truth,” he wrote. “Of course I have never published a made-up story, and never will. If you think somebody is lying about this @Dame_Lillard situation, look elsewhere.”
Dame followed by saying that he has no reason to lie as well, and has been honest his whole career. Abbot replied saying that, in journalism, integrity is one of the pillars that keeps people with jobs. “I work in a profession where my reputation is as important to my livelihood as health is to an NBA player,” Abbot wrote. “Please be very careful about calling me a liar. I take my job very seriously, and do not lie,” to which Dame replied, “Please be careful?”
Check out the entire Twitter exchange between Dame and Abbot, plus CJ McCollum’s take, down below.