data-mm-id=”_er5qd9rw5″>Damian Lillard's playoff heroics are legendary in the NBA universe, but they have yet to lead to a ring. The Portland Trail Blazers have ran into an unfortunate combination of untimely injuries and super teams over the last few seasons, despite Lillard cementing himself as a top-15 player in the league with a quality running mate in C.J. McCollum. Lillard is firmly dedicated to staying in Portland. He's made that clear in numerous public statements and when he signed a four-year supermax extension with the Blazers last summer. That deal will keep him in the Pacific Northwest through 2025. Despite Dame's love for Portland, Stephen A. Smith believes he must leave the Trail Blazers if he ever wants a chance at a ring, as discussed on First Take today: Us: what will it take for Damian Lillard to win a ring?@stephenasmith: "Leave Portland." ? pic.twitter.com/EWYF3LpqxI— First Take (@FirstTake) May 19, 2020The first half of Smith's argument has a solid foundation in logic. The league today is centered around elite two-way players. Of the five best players in the NBA right now (LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kevin Durant, and Stephen Curry) four possess elite offensive and defensive traits. Lillard and McCollum, while excellent offensively, can't be both the No. 1 option and guard the opposing team's best player. They don't need to be able to do that to have success, but it's much harder to win a title when there isn't an overlap between a team's best offensive and defensive players. Unfortunately for Lillard, fate has aligned in such a way that winning a championship in the next five years will require a remarkable amount of luck for Portland. James and Leonard both headed to the Western Conference just as the Warriors' dynasty was dying. Unless injuries strike the Lakers and Clippers, there will always be a difficult road to the NBA Finals. Lillard can catch fire like no one else, but unless Portland can acquire players to guard the elite wings that populate the conference, the team will be hard-pressed to beat the best of the best in a seven-game series. The second half of Smith's point is where he loses me. He suggests the Knicks and the Lakers as two possible alternatives. While Smith admits his bias when it comes to the Knicks, I would argue there is no destination in the NBA that would decrease Lillard's title chances more than that particular organization. The Lakers cannot acquire Lillard, no matter what kind of cap gymnastics they could perform, until LeBron is nearly 40. All in all, Smith is probably right. Portland's options for potential acquisitions are limited with its cap sheet. There's no way for the Blazers to substantially improve unless they trade McCollum, which they won't do without Lillard's sign-off — and, from what we've seen, he isn't particularly likely to do that. Championship heights could be reached if Lilliard somehow ended up in the Eastern Conference and only had one very good team in the Bucks and the injury-prone duo of Durant and Kyrie Irving to go through. Once the Finals start, all bets are off, no matter who Lillard might face off against. But he won't do that, and I'm glad for it. Lillard is a blast to watch, and sports is about watching a great player like him struggle to reach that mountaintop over and over again. If he never reaches it, that's too bad. But his greatness is still undeniable. And if he does, well, it makes for one of basketball's greatest tales.
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Luca Pellegrini has completed his switch from Roma to Serie A rivals Juventus in a deal that sends Leonardo Spinazzola the opposite direction.
The 20-year-old left-back passed a medical on Sunday having agreed terms on a four-year deal.
Juve announced a fee of €22million will be paid to Roma over the course of three years for Pellegrini, with the transfer of Spinazzola to cost Roma €29.5m across the same period.
Pellegrini made 12 appearances on loan at Cagliari during the second half of 2018-19 and will now compete against Alex Sandro for a starting spot at Allianz Stadium.
OFFICIAL | Luca is a Bianconero!
— JuventusFC (@juventusfcen)
Italy international Spinazzola was loaned out seven times by the Bianconeri and lea…
Substitute Chuba Akpom netted a late match-winner as Arsenal saw off the MLS All-Stars 2-1 in San Jose on Thursday.
Akpom came off the bench past the hour-mark and he proved to be the difference, scoring from close range with three minutes remaining after big-money recruit Granit Xhaka made his debut for the Premier League giants at Avaya Stadium.
Scores were level at half-time following Didier Drogba s equaliser at the third time of asking for Kaka and Co., cancelling out Joel Campbell s 11th-minute penalty.
The result ended the All-Stars run of consecutive wins against European opposition, having upstaged Tottenham last year and Bayern Munich in 2014.
Sorry All-Stars, this is one north London team you couldn t beat
— Arsenal FC (@Arsenal)
Everton midfielder Muhamed Besic has announced he will be out of action for six months due to a knee injury.
The Bosnia-Herzegovina international suffered the injury in Wednesday s friendly between Everton and Manchester United, limping off just 11 minutes after coming on as a second-half substitute in Wayne Rooney s testimonial at Old Trafford.
He underwent a series of tests on Thursday to determine the extent of the knock and it has now been revealed he will be sidelined until February.
A brief message on his official Twitter account read: 6 months out! #devastated.
6 months out!
— MoBesic (@Mo_Besic)
Besic joined Everton from Hamburg in July 2014, but injuries have prevented him from making much of an impact at Goodison Park.
…
Santos F.C. starlet Victor Andrade is reportedly attracting interest from a host of top Premier League clubs, including Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City, understands.
Andrade, whose current contract at the Estádio Vila Belmiro expires next summer, wants to move to Europe as soon as possible in order to boost his chances of playing for Brazil at the 2014 World Cup.
The Brazil youth international, 17, has made it clear he will not sign a new deal with Peixe, making him available for a cut-price fee of less than £2.5 million.
Andrade, the ‘New Neymar,’ made his final decision after consulting his godfather, AC Milan forward Robinho. Smart move.
The 29-year-old, formerly of Santos (2002/05), eventually convinced Andrade to seek pastu…
Following a week of criticism aimed at Raheem Sterling, his Manchester City teammate Kevin De Bruyne has hit back at those singling him out from behind a keyboard .
Sterling has been at the centre of controversy after a picture of his gun tattoo surfaced on social media, which sparked outrage from a British tabloid.
He was in the headlines once again a few days later; this time because it was revealed he arrived late to the England training camp due to a delayed flight coming back from a holiday in Jamaica.
But De Bruyne believes the media focus should be shifted to Sterling s talent on the pitch instead.
He is an unbelievable player, the Belgium international told reporters. I don t know why people in England always want to criticise him. He is a good g…
Germany limbered up for their World Cup defence with a patchy 2-1 win over Saudi Arabia in Leverkusen on Friday.
Timo Werner gave Joachim Low s men an early lead and Omar Othman s unfortunate own goal undermined Saudi Arabia as they briefly threatened to find a way into the contest.
Marco Reus made his first international start since March 2016 and dazzled during the first half, laying on Werner s opener and linking pleasingly with the RB Leipzig striker and Thomas Muller.
A former Dortmund team-mate of Reus will enter Russia 2018 under a cloud – Ilkay Gundogan again receiving boos following his meeting with Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Saudi Arabia were humiliated 8-0 in the 2002 World Cup by Germany but their current vintage, led by former …
Market: Viktoria Koln win
Odds: 21/20 @
Looking to make an immediate return to winning ways on Monday evening, Viktoria Koln will host a struggling Duisburg at Sportpark Hohenberg.
Starting with the hosts, eventually slumping to an action-packed 3-2 loss away at leading promotion contenders Elversberg on April 10th, Viktoria Koln should be smelling the chance to find an immediate boost here. Although Olaf Janben’s side might find themselves sat in third-tier limbo, the Whites have continued on an eye-catching run over the past couple of months. Opening April with a 2-1 win at home against Verl, the one-time Dynamo Dresden boss has seen his side lose just one of their last seven appearances a run that stems all the way back to February 27th. Likewise, collectin…
Erik ten Hag has not ruled out using the transfer market to strengthen his squad as injuries and illness continue to hit Manchester United hard.
The number of absentees reached double figures for Monday’s 2-0 FA Cup win away to League Two Wigan, with Christian Eriksen out due to illness and Antony injured.
Although Ten Hag is optimistic a number of players could return in time for Sunday’s Premier League match at home to Tottenham, a United bench made up almost entirely of youngsters at the DW Stadium pointed to the stretched resources.
“We consider everything,” Ten Hag said when asked about the January window. “So what is in the best interests of the players and also the best interests for us, the team, for Manchester United. So we’ll see how we prog…
Juventus have revealed they will offer midfield star Arturo Vidal a lucrative contract extension in the near future.
The Chile international has starred for Juventus ever since switching from Bayer Leverkusen in 2011, and played a big part in the club s back-to-back Serie A titles over the past two seasons.
Vidal scored 15 goals in 45 appearances in all competitions for Juve last term and his form attracted the likes of Real Madrid over the close-season.
But Vidal is likely to stay in Italy after Juventus director Giuseppe Marotta has revealed his efforts are set to be rewarded with a contract extension.
Marotta told Tuttosport: Vidal arrived in Turin and the move was met with some scepticism.
But he has done very well and now he should be rewarded.
T…
Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers continues to play down reports linking Pepe Reina with a summer exit from the club, .
Earlier this season, Reina lost his place in the Reds starting XI to Australia international Brad Jones, who joined Liverpool from Middlesbrough in a deal worth £2.3 million in August 2010.
Jones, 31, has made 15 appearances in all competitions for Liverpool in 2012-13.
Reina has since reclaimed his place in the Reds first-team, but the Spain international s future remains up in the air.
Recent reports have suggested that FC Barcelona are lining up a move for Reina, with No. 1 Victor Valdes expected to leave the club after revealing he will not put pen to paper on a new deal at the Camp Nou.
However, Rodgers has af…