Damian Lillard – Portland Trail Blazers
The No. 1 player on Daryl Morey’s “want” list in a trade involving Ben Simmons is Damian Lillard. Since the rumors from this past offseason suggesting that Lillard wanted out of Portland, the 76ers have been targeting the Blazers’ guard non-stop and are monitoring his situation like a hawk.
Portland and Damian Lillard have stated numerous times that he is not going anywhere anytime soon, but this may not be the case since Dame wants to win and the Trail Blazers are not doing much of that to begin this season.
At 10-8, the Trail Blazers are not “bad” per se, but this team shows no signs of being able to win a first-round playoff series. They are basically the same team from a season ago and if they fail to make it out of the first-round again, it is not crazy to believe that Damian Lillard could request a trade in the near future.
It is unlikely he will be on the move at the trade deadline this year, so Philly would likely have to wait to try and acquire him, but if he is available, he is the guy the Philadelphia 76ers need to win a title.
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Pairing Damian Lillard with Embiid and Harris makes the 76ers one of the most balanced offensive teams in the league and all this team is missing is that second All-Star, MVP-like candidate. This is a no-brainer move for the Philadelphia 76ers to make.
Verdict: Pursue