Damian Lillard – Portland Trail Blazers
Over the course of his now nine year playing career in Portland, Damian Lillard has made six All-Star appearances, been named to the All-NBA list six times and was the 2012-13 Rookie of the Year, but winning when it matters most has been a weakness of the Blazers with Lillard as their leader.
The Trail Blazers have made the postseason eight consecutive years, including this season, but they have made the Western Conference Finals just once over this span and they did not put up much of a fight, getting swept by the Warriors in 2019. Now, with Terry Stotts out and Chauncey Billups in as head coach of the team, Portland looks to be taking things in a new direction, but they better win if they want to keep Lillard.
Damian Lillard is one of the top players in the entire league and after averaging 28.8 points, 7.5 assist and shooting 39.1% from three-point range this past season, he is ready to capitalize on the prime of his career. There were rumors early on when the Blazers lost in the postseason this year that Lillard could be on the trade market, but that does not seem to be the case anymore.
Both Lillard and his camp want to win now rather than later and they want Portland to turn things around rather quickly, which is why C.J. McCollum could be the guy on the move for the Blazers. McCollum has been with Lillard for the last eight seasons and has been Portland’s second best player next to Lillard, but they may have to trade him in order to find more all-around success as a team.
It is expected as well that C.J. McCollum’s market would be pretty vast. Plenty of other playoff contenders, as well as fringe playoff teams will be interested in the 29-year-old guard if he becomes available this offseason, one of those intriguing teams being the Indiana Pacers.
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The Trail Blazers are terrible defensively and they could really use some help on that end of the court, which is why Myles Turner, T.J. Warren and Malcolm Brogdon are all possible targets for Portland in a trade with Indiana.
With the way things are trending, it would not be surprising to see the Blazers look to leverage McCollum this offseason, especially since Damian Lillard does want to win now. Portland is nothing more than a second-round team at this point and they are not a true contender, which is why they need to do everything they can to change this narrative.
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If the Blazers fail to succeed in the playoffs yet again next year, then it is very reasonable to think that Damian Lillard could request a trade, which would be detrimental to the Portland Trail Blazers’ long-term success.
Pleasing Lillard is a must this offseason for the Trail Blazers and unless they add another superstar talent to this team, they are setting themselves up for more playoff disappointment and a future without Damian Lillard.
He may not be on the move this offseason, as it seems like he is willing to give the Blazers another chance to prove themselves as an organization, but the clock is ticking for this franchise and their future with Damian Lillard as their leader.
