Damian Lillard #0 of the Portland Trail Blazers speaks to fans during fan appreciation night before the game against the Utah Jazz at Moda Center on April 10, 2022 in Portland, Oregon.
Abby Bar | Getty Images
Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard has said he wants to stay with the franchise that forged him in 2012 and will use this season to get healthy and strengthen his game.
While he’s doing this, Lillard is also planning to expand a new business.
Lillard discussed his desire to stay in Portland when he spoke to CNBC on Monday about Moov, a performance shoe sole brand he co-founded with his business partner, Nate Jones. The movement was launched in December. It attracted more than $100,000 in sales in its first month through direct-to-consumer selling, and is forecasting $1 million in sales for 2022.
Lillard said the consumer product is “designed for sportsmen and athletes.” Mouff added he wants to help basketball players avoid foot injuries such as plantar fasciitis, which he suffered earlier in his NBA career.
“[Young athletes] I need to wear this because the things you do as an athlete are harder on your body and your feet than my time as a kid,” Lillard said. [younger players] than I had.”
Golden State Warriors’ Draymond Green guards the Portland Trail Blazers’ Damian Lillard in the final seconds of the Warriors’ 119-117 overtime win in Game 4 of the NBA Western Conference Finals at Moda Center in Portland, Oregon on Monday, May 20, 2019.
Scott Strazant | Getty Images
Pressing the “Reset” button
Lillard, 31, has not played since January, is recovering from terminal surgery and has played 29 low-key matches this season due to injury. However, the Weber State producer averaged 24 points and 7.3 assists this past season and was named one of the league’s greatest players in February to celebrate the NBA’s 75th anniversary.
But after uncertainty surfaced about his future with the team last summer, he watched the Lillard Blazers go through a turbulent transition on and off the field in the 2021-22 NBA season. He still wants to stay.
“I have no plans of not being a Portland Trailblazer,” Lillard said. “I want to be here, and I think they want me here.”
The Blazers sacked former coach Terry Stott last year. Chris McGowan, the team’s chief executive, resigned last November, and a month later, the Blazers fired basketball chief Neil Olschi after allegations of workplace misconduct.
On the field, the Blazers made list moves that included exchanging Blazers co-star CJ McCollum to the New Orleans Pelicans to free up pay cap space. Then, last month, the team shut out Lillard for the rest of the season and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2012-13—a year for a rookie Lillard.
When asked to describe his tenth NBA season in one word, Lillard described it as a “reset.”
“I feel reborn – healthy and mentally,” he said.
Lillard will get $42 million next season as part of a $176 million extension signed in 2019, according to Spotrac, a website that tracks sports contracts. This summer, he is also eligible to sign another extension of more than $100 million. That would push the average annual value, or AAV, of a Lillard deal to more than $50 million per season.
Lillard warned of naysayers and media speculation surrounding his future.
“Everyone’s like, ‘He’ll do this,'” Lillard said. He will.” “But the game is so watered down, and the game is so fugazi (fake) that people literally won’t believe what you say even if you tell them directly.”
Although Lillard wanted to stay with the Blazers, asked if he would accept the trade, he replied, “If they come to me and want to trade with me – I won’t fight them for wanting to trade. I don’t want to be anywhere I don’t.” But I don’t think that’s the case.”
Damian Lillard’s new investment in Move, a shoe sole brand he co-founded.
Judge: Move
Move to new business
Out of court, Lillard earns nearly $15 million in endorsements, according to Forbes magazine. The deals include brand deals with Anheuser-Busch’s Modelo brand, Disney-owned Hulu, and a $100 million contract with sneaker company Adidas.
On the investment front, Lillard is a co-owner of Players TV, a channel launched on Samsung TV Plus in 2020. Additionally, he owns Damian Lillard Toyota in Oregon and goes to Dame DOLLA on his music career.
Now, Lillard is focused on building Move. Lillard said Jones pitched the idea of building the insoles brand in 2019. “As soon as we talked about it, my mind went to my foot injuries,” he added.
Lillard recalled his battles with plantar fasciitis earlier in his career. The injury causes inflammation of the tissues near the heel of the foot and can be caused by an improper sole in athletic shoes. Lillard said the athletes’ “lack of awareness and self-care” with their feet is a problem.
“It’s worse now,” Lillard said, referring to younger athletes who tend to play year-round to develop their skill set and gain exposure. “It’s very important for them to get ahead of the game on these kinds of things. So, I felt it was a great marketing opportunity to not only be part of a successful business plan but to be part of a huge impact on a lot of the health of these younger athletes.”
Damian Lillard’s new investment in Move, a shoe sole brand he co-founded.
Judge: Move
Jones, who works with Lillard as an agent and sports marketer at Goodwin Sports Management, is the co-founder and co-CEO of Move. Jones said the company is working with Florida-based Footcare Express, a popular podiatry clinic that NBA teams use to create custom insoles for players.
Move went to market last year with its Game Day and Game Day Pro insoles, and Jones added that it’s a performance equipment company.
Merck-owned company Merck dominates the shoe sole market. The Scholl brand is expected to reach $4.5 billion by 2027, according to global market research firm Fortune Business Insights. But Jones said branded insoles companies are failing to target younger athletes when it comes to foot care. Call it a white space that can benefit MOV’s growth.
Jones said Moov had sales of $120,000 in December. Its website converts 5% of its traffic into customers, Move uses social media to build awareness and hasn’t spent money on consumer acquisition costs through big marketing or promotion.
“The response we’ve had so far lets us know we’re making a success,” Jones said. “Introducing Dame to the current market, the potential market, and how we approach it differently – and tell a story for parents and children about why professional athletes swear by [specialized insoles] – The lady was on board.
After targeting younger basketball players, Mouffe wants to change volleyball players.
“A lot of startups in sports, they end up failing because they try to be too many things for too many people out of the gate,” Jones said. “We focus on basketball, and then naturally, we’ll start branching out into other sports. And there’s a lot of overlap between basketball and volleyball.”
Other investors include Phoenix Suns star Chris Paul, former NBA goalkeeper Jamal Crawford and prominent sports agent Aaron Goodwin. The terms of their investments were not disclosed. Jones added that Moov wants to raise an additional $2 million this year as the company seeks expansion.
“The stage of my career I’m at, it’s more about impact than about looking for an opportunity for myself,” Lillard said of his engagement with Moov. “I want to put a cap on my business – but a lot of my country [business] about the effect. I know from my experience that something like this would have a huge impact and would be able to help a lot of athletes.”