Damian Lillard will stay in Portland for at least one more season. Following a tumultuous offseason full of rumors and speculations, the All-Star point guard will remain with his first and only team in the league.
In the summer, he was linked with several teams, and there’s one that isn’t giving up on the idea of landing the clutch player. Dame will run it back with the Blazers, especially now that they have a new head coach in Chauncey Billups.
Just like Ben Simmons, Lillard was word of mouth around the NBA community. Curiously, they were mentioned in several rumors suggesting the Philadelphia 76ers would offer Simmons to the Trail Blazers in exchange for Dame.
Although that is unlikely to happen right now, the Sixers are reportedly keen to get a deal done for Lillard eventually. Recently, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype revealed that Philly hasn’t given up on his attempts to lure Lillard away.
“The best Philly can theoretically get for a win-now player in the short-term would be a deal with Portland for CJ McCollum, but Philly has had their eyes on Damian Lillard for a while, and they don’t want to settle.”
It will be very complicated for the Sixers to land Lillard instead of McCollum, but crazier things have happened before. Ben Simmons is still a great talent, and one bad postseason won’t change that perception.
He’s made it clear he wants a fresh start and going to Portland would be the best option for him if the Sixers decide to ignore the Minnesota Timberwolves. Perhaps next year’s trade deadline will surprise us with a Simmons-Lillard swap, but anything could happen before that moment.
