Former Portland Trail Blazers guard and current New Orleans Pelicans star CJ McCollum talked about Damian Lillard’s NBA future with the Blazers on ESPN’s “First Take.”
McCollum believes Lillard’s time in Portland could be coming to an end.
“The market will dictate what happens here,” McCollum said. “If I was a betting man, I would say this is the last that we’ve seen of him [in Portland].”
The Blazers have the third overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft. They could package that pick with players from the current roster to acquire a star or keep the pick and draft a young player. Lillard wants to compete for a championship, so he probably would like Portland to get him more win-now players instead of young guys who need time to develop.
NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: CJ McCollum, Damian Lillard & Portland Trail Blazers Updates
However, the Blazers may want to draft a young stud who has a chance to be a superstar down the line. This sets up a potential clash between Lillard and the front office.
Lillard has said multiple times that he wants to spend his entire career with the Blazers. Portland general manager Joe Cronin told Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports that he wants to maximize Lillard’s timeline.
“We’re a team that’s trying to win and trying to maximize Damian’s timeline. This was an important night for us,” Cronin told Yahoo Sports. “Front offices around the league think highly of this draft, so you would think that a lot of teams that were sitting (on stage) tonight will be getting a lot of calls from teams trying to move up and maneuver.”
NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: CJ McCollum, Damian Lillard & Portland Trail Blazers Updates
The Blazers won only 33 games this season. They have missed the playoffs two years in a row after making the postseason eight consecutive years. Lillard, 32, appeared in 58 games this season and averaged 32.2 points, 4.8 rebounds and 7.3 assists while shooting 46.3% from the field, 37.1% from beyond the arc and 91.4% from the free-throw line. He signed a two-year, $121.8 million maximum veteran extension in July 2022.
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