Despite being one of the best guards in the league, Damian Lillard knows that his future with the Portland Trail Blazers could change in an instant.

Lillard, like the rest of us, have already seen players moved on from their franchises despite their loyalty to the team. The most recent example being DeMar DeRozan being traded away by the Toronto Raptors this summer.

The Blazers star has also seen players pack up their bags from teams that have developed them into superstars in search of achieving personal goals, such as Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant.

We've seen the loyalty bonds broken by players and teams in recent years, but Lillard himself doesn't want to be doing that with Portland anytime soon.

During a recent interview, the 28-year-old has said that he wants to be a member of the Blazers for life as not a lot of players get to play for one team for their entire career.

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

The Blazers will be doing everything to keep the backcourt of Lillard and C.J. McCollum together while taking a step forward towards elite status, but this is easier said than done.

The Western Conference has improved dramatically in quality of the summer with the arrival of LeBron James at the Los Angeles Lakers, as well as DeMarcus Cousins at the Golden State Warriors.

Next season could be Lillard's toughest yet at the Blazers, but it appears as though so long as he is in control of his own destiny, he wants to see things out in Portland until the very end of his career despite the new stacked odds against him and his team.

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