One NBA insider thinks Damian Lillard will get traded by the Portland Trail Blazers this offseason. Sam Amick of The Athletic told Ethan Skolnick of the “Five On The Floor” podcast that he believes Lillard’s celestial run with the Blazers will come to an end this offseason.
“I’m gonna lean towards yes because I feel like. … How deliberate star players are with their voice. And what I’m seeing from Dame right now, and the type of commentary and analysis coming either from him or reporters who are close to him, the tone of the discussion feels like two things: A) something you choose to do to apply pressure and make sure your front office trades the No. 3 pick for a very good player to make him stay, and B) to send the message that if you don’t [trade that pick], we’re gonna have to figure something out here,” Amick said.
“I’m currently not seeing or hearing of that type of trade. So it does feel like if they don’t move the pick for something that really moves the program forward now, then we’re gonna be talking about Dame a lot this summer.”
With Amick’s comments in mind, NBA Analysis Network came up with a hypothetical trade involving the Blazers and New York Knicks. The Knickerbockers would get Lillard for RJ Barrett, Obi Toppin, Evan Fournier, Quentin Grimes and four future draft picks.
If this trade went through, the Knicks would have a new Big 3 of Lillard, Jalen Brunson and Julius Randle and the Blazers would have young talent and draft picks to accelerate their rebuild.
A future Hall of Famer, Lillard averaged 32.2 points, 4.8 rebounds and 7.3 assists this season in 58 games. The Blazers won only 33 games and missed the playoffs for the second straight year.
Lillard has told people privately that he wouldn’t mind getting traded to the Miami Heat or Brooklyn Nets. Since the Knicks play at MSG and have a bright future, it’s safe to assume that Dame wouldn’t be opposed to playing for the Knickerbockers.
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