Damian Lillard injury update: Trail Blazers star to begin reconditioning phase, out at least 2-3 more weeks

 

The Portland Trail Blazers announced on Sunday that star guard Damian Lillard has progressed through the first phase of his rehabilitation from abdominal surgery without any setbacks. He has now been cleared to begin reconditioning, which includes basketball skill work, and will be reevaluated in two-to-three weeks. 

Lillard, who had been dealing with a lingering abdominal problem for years, finally underwent surgery to correct the issue on Jan. 13. He was initially expected to miss six-to-eight weeks, so he is currently right on track with his recovery. That's good news for Lillard and the Blazers, but it's still unclear if he'll play again this season. 

Lillard is looking at a mid-to-late March return at the earliest, and at that point there will be less than a month left in the regular season. At that point it's probably not worth bringing him back, even if the team is still in the mix for a play-in tournament spot. After all, every move the team has made since Lillard underwent surgery indicates they're packing things in for this season and hoping for a high lottery pick that will accelerate a roster reset. 

Over the last few weeks the Blazers have traded CJ McCollum, Larry Nance Jr., Norman Powell and Robert Covington, and have also shut Jusuf Nurkic down for at least a month. In return they've received a number of young players and draft picks, including Josh Hart, Justise Winslow and Nickeil Alexander-Walker. Whenever Lillard returns, whether it's this season or next, it will be to a completely different roster. 

Of course, there will continue to be speculation about whether Lillard might force his way out of Portland, but he's reiterated time and again that he wants to be there. 

"For me, my heart is Portland Trail Blazer," Lillard said after the McCollum trade. "I want to win it. I know that I have a plan that's going to put me on my best level when I come back to play. And I want our team to fit that."

"I'm a huge fan of Chauncey Billups," Lillard continued. "I love Chauncey, we've got a great relationship and I think he'll continue to grow into the head coach that he wants to be. And I'm a Joe Cronin fan. In his position I think it takes being bold and doing bold things, doing what you see fit and standing on it. He's told me that our plan is to build a winning team, not to rebuild. Because we had a prior relationship to him becoming GM, I trust his word."