There have been a lot of NBA rumors swirling around the Portland Trail Blazers since they fired general manager and president of basketball operations Neil Olshey. A majority of those rumors have been centered around star point guard Damian Lillard.
Shams Charania and Sam Amick released an article at The Athletic that detailed some of the things that the Trail Blazers could be doing now that they will have a new front office. One of the main topics is what will happen with Lillard.
Lillard could sign a two-year extension that would make him the highest-paid player in the NBA in his mid-30s. That isn’t an ideal selling point for prospective hires according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, as some people interviewing for the job would like to receive the organization’s blessing to trade him sooner than later.
There were also some reports in The Athletic piece that stated Lillard wanted significant changes to the roster. Ben Simmons was someone he was interested in playing for and Wojnarowski, in his piece, said Lillard’s camp was pushing the Portland Trail Blazers to trade C.J. McCollum and multiple first-round picks for him.
LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Lillard Wanted Blazers To Trade McCollum For Simmons?
That deal never materialized, as McCollum and Simmons remain with their respective franchises. Portland’s roster is not built to contend for a championship right now, so there will undoubtedly be some changes made eventually.
The easiest way for them to kickstart a rebuild would be to trade away Lillard, who would bring back a significant package. But, don’t expect that request to come from Lillard himself. He made that much clear to Jason Dumas of Bleacher Report on Tuesday.
Lillard has been adamant about his stance to remain in Portland for a while now. When his name was brought up in potential trades during the offseason he said that they were bogus. He doubled and tripled down all offseason and earlier in the regular season and has once again stated his commitment to the organization.
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While he won’t ask for a trade, that doesn’t necessarily mean that he won’t be on the move. If the new front office believes it is best for the direction of the franchise to move on from Damian Lillard, they could very well look to move him as the NBA is a business at the end of the day.
