Damian Lillard has kept the Portland Trail Blazers relevant for over a decade. He was handed the keys to the franchise after the sudden retirement of Brandon Roy (degenerative knees) and LaMarcus Aldridge was in need of a new star to form a new duo. It took time for Lillard to come into his own and years before he made his first all-star appearance in a talented Western Conference.
The departure of LaMarcus Aldridge to the San Antonio Spurs (ring chasing), Lillard never had a team that was formidable in a stacked Western Conference. With Lillard’s partner in crime and big boss owner in Paul Allen passing away, the tides shifted and the team was always in limbo and uncertainty.
Now, the Portland Trail Blazers are at a crossroads and are at a place of rebuilding a young talented roster for Head Coach Chauncey Billups to coach. Portland and Damian Lillard were never on the same page. As they say, “there are always a solid 4-6 teams actually trying to win a championship every season. The rest are just in it to sell tickets and make money.” That’s the nature of the NBA and all other major sports leagues.
I’m a huge Damian Lillard fan but the reality of it is, he should’ve left Portland years ago. He had opportunities to and while he’s always said the right things in staying loyal, you can’t stay loyal to a team who made millions off of your talents and didn’t put a championship team together for you to compete. You’ve been to one Western Conference Finals in your illustrious career and it’s not like Dame isn’t a winner.
The standoff now is Dame wanting to play for just one team, the Miami Heat. Dame has been the consummate professional his whole career. Does Portland owe it to Dame to trade him to the one team he wants or should he open up his options and give Portland more teams?
To answer the first part of the question, Portland really doesn’t owe Dame, it would be nice to be respectable to trade him to Miami. Dame knows the culture in Miami, great coaching, upper management, they compete for championships every year, no state taxes, nice weather all year, his friendships with Jimmy Butler and Bam. Adebayo, the opportunities are endless. Sadly to say this, Portland has to do what’s best for them.
Portland has more leverage than basketball fans think. They don’t feel obligated to take on Tyler Herro’s big contract, especially after extending Jerami Grant (his big contract was surprising but the market dictated his value), Jusuf Nurkic and Ant Simons big contracts, it doesn’t make sense for Portland to kill their salary cap and not be competing for a playoff spot. Let’s also keep in mind, Herro didn’t play in Miami’s run to the NBA Finals.
If you look at Portland’s roster, if and when they ship Lillard off to a new team, a backcourt of newly drafted #3 pick Scoot Henderson and Ant Simons, there’s a bright future for that tandem. If they take on Tyler Herro, there’s a sharpshooter added to the mix but the fast development of athletic wing Shaeden Sharpe, there’s a lot of promise in his growth and development.
For years, this has been a league of players controlling their own narratives and where they want to play. Somehow, I feel Dame will end up with the Miami Heat. He will make them better but not necessarily contend for a championship. Miami lost Gabe Vincent to the Los Angeles Lakers and Max Strus is on his way to the Cleveland Cavaliers in a sign and trade. That changes the landscape of the team going forward in their role players.
The one move that wasn’t smart was Lillard’s agent telling teams to not trade for him. Dame could surely go to other teams that would instantly contend for a championship but players have their preference of teams they want to play for and I get it.
At the end of the day, Portland is in no rush to move Dame to another team. It’s a business and Portland is going to look for the best assets possible. Which will mean a third team will be involved in this trade. When summer league wraps up, something will come of this standoff Lillard and Portland are having. Would I be surprised if Lillard doesn’t end up in Miami, somewhat.
If Portland is smart, you trade Lillard somewhere where you’re going to gain a piece that will allow you to stay competitive and keep fans in the seats. Scoot Henderson is a start. Time will tell what comes of this situation but I surely don’t see this saga continuing into training camp.
Starting fresh in Portland is necessary and where they went wrong was not keeping it 100 with Dame all along. Dame Time is officially done in Portland and team management needs to start looking at the blueprint the Oklahoma City Thunder have done and what the Orlando Magic are currently doing. That’s where your future will be bright….
