Is Damian Lillard right about ring culture?

Damian Lillard joined the Old Man and The Three podcast with JJ Redick and Tommy Alter, and was talking about ring culture and how the NBA has changed.  Damian Lillard even had a quote saying, “I don’t if I can just, play a long long time, because I don’t enjoy the NBA as a whole has become.”

Is it good news or bad news for Blazers fans? John Canzano on the Bald Faced Truth radio show said, “I do think he’s speaking out because he see’s something he doesn’t like.  I also think he’s speaking out because he knows that there’s a fair chance he’s not ever going to win a championship in the NBA.”

That is the question in Rip City.  Can the Blazers ever put a team around Damian Lillard that can compete for a championship?  But now the question can be asked, does Damian Lillard think the Blazers can put a championship team around him?  It’s going to be tough, but Canzano says it’s interesting to hear Damian Lillard as one of the elder statesmen in the NBA, “He’s done a lot of good individual things, made a pile of money, he stayed in Portland.  He deserves credit for staying loyal, but he also got extra money for being loyal.  And it’s interesting to hear him talk about ring culture in a way where he’s the older statesmen in the league, and he’s looking at the younger players going hey there’s more to this then just winning a championship.”

Is ring culture just a NBA thing?  Or is it a problem in all sports?  “I think what he’s talking about is an issue that effects more then just the NBA though.  I think we’re seeing it in college football.  If you don’t make the college football playoff, you don’t win the national championship you’re season didn’t matter,” Canzano said, “There were a lot of Oregon Duck fans who felt that way.  Who I think were looking at Dan Lanning’s first season, this last year, they won 10 games, they got to a Holiday Bowl, they didn’t get to the conference championship game, they didn’t get to the playoff, and I think there were a lot of Ducks fans who went, ehhhh it’s not worth it to go to the Holiday Bowl this season was a waste.”

John did think it was interesting that Damian Lillard would bring this up saying he wouldn’t play a long time in the league, “To that point.  I would argue the players in the NBA, not owners, not general managers, not coaches the players themselves in the NBA are driving that force. Canzano added on the BFT, “They are driving the super teams, they are driving the pursuit of the rings as that’s what’s making it in the NBA.”

You can hear John’s full thoughts on the BFT Podcast.  The BFT with John Canzano airs daily from 3-6 on 750 The Game.