The big news of the NBA offseason so far has revolved around what has gone on in Portland over the last several weeks and the future of Damian Lillard. The Blazers made their 8th consecutive playoff appearance this year, but for the 5th time in this span, they lost in the first-round, this time to the Denver Nuggets in six games.
After years of playoff disappointment, Portland made the decision to part ways with Terry Stotts, who had served as the head coach of this franchise since the start of the 2012-13 season. Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum have never played for another coach other than Stotts at the NBA level, which is why this was a big decision.
Early on, there was a lot of speculation that Jason Kidd could be the next head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers after Damian Lillard voiced his admiration for Kidd, but the NBA Hall-of-Famer withdrew his name from consideration for the position after this.
Chuncey Billups was another name mentioned by Lillard and just the other day, the Blazers announced that Billups would be their new head coach. There has been some public backlash though about Portland hiring Billups because of some prior sexual assault allegations back in 1997, which has also fueled some NBA trade rumors about the Trail Blazers’ star becoming “unhappy” in his current situation.
Damian Lillard has transcended himself into being one of the top players in the league over the last few seasons and this is not going to change anytime soon, but he does want to win now. Given Portland’s struggles over the years and a new head coach coming in, is this franchise really in a position to succeed immediately and finally get over their recent playoff struggles?
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In Los Angeles as the Clippers’ assistant coach, nothing but good things have been said about Billups and his coaching abilities, which is why he will likely do a great job as head coach in Portland, but in the end, this is still the same Blazers roster from last year.
Nothing has changed in terms of making them true contenders and unless they add another All-Star talent in the offseason, Damian Lillard could look to move on with his career elsewhere.
If Lillard requests a trade, he will be the most sought after trade target in the NBA and all other 29 teams will be on the phone with GM Neil Olshey trying to acquire the 6x All-Star guard. Who knows what is going to happen in terms of Portland and their future, but if Lillard wants out, here are four dark-horse trade destinations to watch out for.
