It is not really the fault of the New York Knicks that they are the Dallas Cowboys of the NBA in at least one category: Like flies to honey, the media is attracted to the idea of connecting league stars to the franchise in literally impossible numbers.
Does Damian Lillard of the Portland Trail Blazers fall into that fanciful category?
There are now suggestions that Lillard - who has been almost painfully loyal to a Portland club that has never quite gotten it done - is undergoing a change of heart on the idea of demanding a trade to New York.
Writes the New York Post: "Lillard stayed put and appears OK with the Blazers’ new blueprint and is no longer intrigued by New York’s plan, according to sources.''
Given Lillard's long-standing faith in "Blazers blueprints'' (in so, so many forms), that assessment rings true.
What arguably rings less true: Just how intrigued Lillard really ever was with the idea of joining the Knicks.
One fact: A couple of seasons ago, Dame reflected on rumors by saying, “I thought I was headed there a few years ago; I was hearing trade rumors. The Garden is my favorite place to play.”
So there is that. But ...
In the last nine seasons, Portland has boasted a winning percentage of .500 or better seven times, and a winning percentage of over .600 three times.
During that same span (as you the Knicks fan know), New York has been over .500 ... once.
That doesn't mean the Knicks blueprint is doomed. It doesn't mean their first playoff appearance in eight years a year ago was a blue-moon event. It doesn't preclude a turnaround led by boss Leon Rose.
What it does mean is that the Knicks' greatest asset is the "big-market/big-city'' status. Maybe that helps lure New York native Donovan Mitchell here. The "lure'' can work. Heck, it must work.
But that doesn't mean it was ever going to work on Damian Lillard.
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