Will Damian Lillard be a member of the Portland Trail Blazers next season?
Everybody on the planet seems to be waiting for Portland Trail Blazers superstar Damian Lillard to request a trade. If you look through Twitter, you’ll see hundreds of fake trade ideas sending the seven-time All-Star to teams like the Miami Heat and Brooklyn Nets. But as of this moment, Lillard has -175 odds to play his next regular season minutes as a member of the Blazers at DraftKings Sportsbook.
While everyone seems to want to see Lillard force his way out of Rip City, the 2018 All-NBA First Teamer has repeatedly said that he wants to finish his career with one franchise. However, Lillard also says he wants to compete for NBA titles. And the Blazers aren’t exactly prepared to do that with their current roster.
Portland does have the third pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, so that makes this Blazers offseason very interesting. With Brandon Miller likely to be selected second by the Charlotte Hornets, Portland could add Scoot Henderson to its young core. But Henderson is a pure point guard. That makes the fit with Lillard a little wonky.
Nobody can blame Portland for going with the best player available at No. 3, especially with Lillard turning 33 years old in July. But Lillard has apparently made it clear that he wants the Blazers to deal that pick for a proven veteran. Some of the names that have been mentioned in trade rumors are Paul George, Pascal Siakam and Bam Adebayo. And the reality is that the Blazers just might be able to get one of them with Henderson likely to be available at their pick.