PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — At one point after Damian Lillard returned to the Portland Trail Blazers, he was chatting with coach Chauncey Billups about what his role with the team would be this season as he recovers from an Achilles injury.

Billups had joked that Lillard would be the “highest-paid assistant coach in the league” but the nine-time All-Star expressed concern that he didn’t want to overstep in his guidance of the team’s young players.

“And I’m saying, Dame, you’re Dame. You’re OK, bro. Just be you,” Billups said. “Just be who you always are. They’re going to be looking for that direction. And so he’ll find his way as he’s trying to get himself back healthy.”

Lillard played for Portland for his first 11 NBA seasons before he was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks before the start of th

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