The Portland Trail Blazers will push to keep superstar Damian Lillard around after selecting Scoot Henderson with the No. 3 pick, despite Lillard wanting the team to move the pick for win-now veterans.
Amidst rumors of him joining the Miami Heat, Lillard finally had a meeting with Blazers GM Joe Cronin. It seems the talks were productive, as Cronin told Chris Haynes.
“I met with Dame and Aaron Goodwin (Dame’s agent) this afternoon. We had a great dialogue. We remain committed to building a winner around Dame.”
Portland Trail Blazers GM Joe Cronin issues statement on meeting with Damian Lillard: “I met with Dame and Aaron Goodwin this afternoon. We had a great dialogue. We remain committed to building a winner around Dame.”
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) June 27, 2023
Lillard averaged 32.2 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 7.3 assists last season as the Blazers missed the playoffs.
This was the second consecutive season where the Blazers failed to make the postseason, indicating the team has reached the end of its competitiveness outside of Dame. The rumors will continue swirling, but it seems the parties are headed toward a solution to keep Lillard in a Blazers jersey next season.
Kicking The Can Down The Road
We all know that this is not the final page in this saga. Even if the talks were productive and Lillard starts the season as a Blazer, the entire team will be under heavy scrutiny through the first few months of the new campaign. If the Blazers are underperforming, trade discussions will likely resurface.
If competitiveness is what Lillard wants, he could easily give the Blazers another chance and make his move before the trade deadline. He and Scoot could have incredible chemistry and supplementary moves around the roster could end up paying off for the franchise.
There is a potential to be great that shouldn’t be ignored, so we likely see Lillard start the season with Portland. Whether he ends it with them is something that we will have to wait and see.
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