Damian Lillard – Portland Trail Blazers
Damian Lillard is a very obvious choice for James Harden to want to play with because they are two of the most dynamic scorers in the NBA today. Last season, Harden led the league with 21 games of 40+ points and Lillard finished tied for second with 11 games. Pairing these two guys up would make for an unreal offense in Portland and something teams would have headaches trying to guard.
In the NBA Bubble a season ago, Lillard averaged 37.6 points, 9.6 assists, 4.3 rebounds, and shot just about 44% from the floor and 40.7% from three-point range. He was named the MVP of the NBA restart in Orlando and this season, is one of the favorites to be the 2020-21 NBA Most Valuable Player.
A lot of Lillard’s success in Portland is because they give him the freedom to lead this team and shoot at will, and while bringing in Harden may cause Lillard to take a step back, it would give both of them their best chance at winning a title in their careers. C.J. McCollum is a great player and a fantastic number two option for the Blazers next to Dame, but those two together are never going to win a championship.
However, the possibility of winning a championship with Lillard and Harden paired up is extremely realistic. Every team in the league struggles to guard these guys by themselves. Just imagine what it would be like if they were on the court together.
Harden should want to play with Lillard because he can rely on Dame more than any other player he has ever played with. The former league MVP is a very ball-dominant player and with the Rockets over the years, has had to do everything, but in Portland with Lillard, Harden could alleviate a lot of stress by having Lillard take command.
It makes total sense for Harden to want to team up with Lillard, not only because it gives him a really legit chance at winning a title, but it could end up forming one of the most lethal scoring duos in NBA history. This would be something that would be hard to pass up for either James Harden or the Trail Blazers.
