Damian Lillard – Portland Trail Blazers
The Trail Blazers moved on from head coach Terry Stotts after 9 seasons this offseason, but now there seems to be a cloud of uncertainty raining down on this franchise. They have been to the postseason for eight consecutive years and are almost always in the mix in the Western Conference, but is this team a true title contender? Damian Lillard seems to be questioning that notion and has surfaced in NBA trade rumors as a result.
The Lakers, Clippers and Warriors seem to be “household” names always competing in the West, but now with the Jazz and Suns passing the Blazers in terms of contention status, this franchise may be heading in the wrong direction. With Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum leading this team, they definitely have the starpower to match up with any team, but they are lacking the overall talent to beat some of these other title contenders.
As a result, Damian Lillard is an interesting name that could hit the trade market this offseason, which would cause utter chaos! According to multiple reports, Lillard seems to be a little uncertain about the direction Portland is trending towards and has begun questioning whether or not he can actually win a title with this organization.
A lot of Damian Lillard’s uncertainties stem from the dysfunction that occurred during the Blazers’ head coaching search. One day, it seemed like Lakers assistant Jason Kidd was going to be their next coach, then it was Spurs assistant Becky Hammon, then Portland recently decided to hire former Finals MVP Chauncey Billups to be their newest head coach.
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Billups was one of the guys Lillard listed as somebody he would love to play for, according to Yahoo Sports, so it initially seemed like this was a smart hire for the Blazers, but all the talk over the last few days has been about getting Damian Lillard out of Portland.
Obviously the Trail Blazers do not want Lillard going anywhere, as he is arguably a Top-5 talent in this league, but if he requests a trade, they may have to give into their superstar’s request. Time will tell what the future holds for the Blazers and Damian Lillard, but as of right now, he is the most talked about player in trade talks league-wide.
