“PEOPLE rationalize divorces, demotions, and diseases, but not slow elevators and uninspired burgundies.”
Or, as a manifestation of the region beta paradox, when a terrible condition forces a person to act on it and end up in an optimal or best possible situation, something someone who is in the same, but less terrible situation, would not do simply because his situation is bad but bearable.
Let’s say you are hungry and there is bread and water inside the room. It is possible that you will just stay put and settle for what’s already there.
Now let’s say you are hungry and there is no food inside the room. That is a terrible situation to be in, and unlike the other person whose hunger can be alleviated with bread and water available to him, you have no choice but to go outside and look for food, and possibly find something better than just bread and water. Something great happened from trying to resolve a terrible situation.
Crystallized. Simplified. Applied. If you want the full discourse, read “The Peculiar Longevity of Things Not So Bad” by Daniel T. Gilbert, Matthew D.
Lieberman, Carey K. Morewedge, and Timothy D. Wilson, the research that birthed the region beta paradox, published in Psychological Science, a monthly, peer-reviewed, scientific journal and the flagship journal of the Association for Psychological Science.
Despite the names that surrounded Damian Lillard, we all know he was given just bread and water from his first, to his (potentially) last, day in Rip City. CJ McCollum, Jusuf Nurkic, and Nic Batum are good – regular season good at best. LaMarcus Aldridge has always been underwhelming.
Carmelo Anthony is a real pit bull, but he joined Damian at the decline of his career.
The amazing part – and testament to Lillard’s professionalism and integrity – was his content.
He never got the superstars that became available with every free agency that came and went, and unlike many of today’s marquee players, Lillard (to my knowledge) never threw tantrums and demanded Portland get blue-chip players.
Lillard, the 6th overall pick from Weber State in the 2012 NBA Draft, let the front office and coaching staff do their job, and he did his. The ship has holes, but it will float. Damian Lillard, the recipient of the 2020-21 Twyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year award, rationalized loyalty, patience, hard work, and timing, not instant championships and super teams.
This is not to say that he didn’t want a ring. He wanted one, just like every competitive basketball player. But first, he wanted to be patient. He did not obsess over winning a championship solely. He wanted to do it the right way, or at least, in a way that does not stain the hardware that was won, like openly recruiting stars and fighting with the front office and coaching staff and trying to find a shortcut and do it the easy way.
And that’s what we saw him do all throughout his 11 years in Portland. He never felt the need to resort to drastic measures.
Not until he started rationalizing championship, legacy, and achievement.
What do we call superstars who have been chasing a championship for many, many years?
Yes, hungry.
The situation inside the room changed from tolerable to unacceptable. Now, bread and water (and loyalty) are not enough to feed the body, mind, and championship. Kailangan ng sustansya, in the local parlance.
He’s not even looking for an outright championship. He is looking for a great coach, an excellent culture, a winning attitude, and a real competitive spirit, things that the Miami Heat organization has been consistent in, even after their superstars have left with at least five banners owed to the organization and fans on a king’s promise during the Big Three’s euphoric ascension.
Damian Lillard does not want a feast on the table laid out for him. He is not lazy, and he never said he wanted it easy. He wants to hunt, and this time he wants to return from the trip with the prize in the bag. He doesn’t want to be pampered. He wants to earn what he deserves – and a championship is something he has long deserved.
It is such a travesty that he has to become desperate, but maybe that is what the NBA and the fans need: peak and desperate Lillard and the favor of Daniel Gilbert’s region beta paradox.
