Damian Lillard may not ask for a trade even if the Trail Blazers can’t trade the #3 overall pick before the NBA draft.
It looks like Damian Lillard may not be leaving Portland after all the talk he’s going to do if the Trail Blazers don’t make a move this season.
In a recent installment of the news by Chris MannixSI writer pointed out that Lillard is not the type to ask for a trade.
So what happens if the Blazers can’t find a deal that improves their chances in the short term? There will be no commercial demand. This is simply not Lillard’s style. Lillard has said time and time again — including to me back in March — that if Portland can’t put itself on the path to contention, he’ll sit down with GM Joe Cronin and have a candid discussion about what’s best.
Mannix reports that the Trail Blazers are open to trading for OG Anunoby or Pascal Siakam but they haven’t offered a third overall pick in any deal yet.
Trail Blazers Damian Lillard will not be forced into a trade
Looks like this will finally be summer for something to move between the two sides. This would be appalling asset management for the team given the fact that they will likely not be title contenders this season or next, pending something unexpected.
With that in mind, the Blazers must make a move with the third overall pick or decide to trade Lillard. The number of assets the Trail Blazers could get from the Nets or the Heat in a potential trade would help this team go through a straightforward rebuilding process.
Even if Lillard didn’t ask for the trade, it was finally time to make a move. Lillard is about to turn 33 and has four more years maximum on his contract.
The Blazers haven’t made the playoffs this season and probably won’t be again if they don’t trade All-NBA players. They will have an outside chance of winning the title if they trade a star depending on what they stand to lose in the trade.
If the third overall pick or Lillard weren’t traded in the off-season, that would be a real problem since there are so many rumors that one of those things is going to happen.