The future of the Portland Trail Blazers can be looked at as both bright and grim for multiple reasons. It is bright because the young assets they have acquired over the last few seasons are extremely promising, along with the No. 3 pick in the 2023 Draft.
The grim comes with the uncertain future of Damian Lillard. The team is under pressure to move their future assets now to maximize winning by Dame, with him reiterating that the team needs to use its assets to build a contender.
“I want to have an opportunity to win in Portland. Right now, we got an opportunity, asset-wise, to build a team that can compete. That would be the No. 1 thing. If we can’t do that, and I have said this for months now, then it’s a separate conversation we would have to have. We’ve got to let things take their course and see where it lands and go from there, but it’s no guarantee that I’d play in June regardless of the situation.”
“I want to have an opportunity to win in Portland… We got an opportunity, asset-wise, to build a team that can compete. If we can’t do that… then it’s a separate conversation we would have to have”
Damian Lillard on the Blazers' future
(via @SHOsports)pic.twitter.com/s7XPkZmyXQ
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) June 6, 2023
The Blazers have missed the playoffs for two consecutive seasons and couldn’t compete this season, even with Lillard having an All-NBA-caliber season. The No. 3 pick could lead to some big moves for Portland, or it could lead to Dame being traded and the Blazers rebuilding with No. 3 Anfernee Simons and Shaedon Sharpe.
Should The Blazers Stick With The Rebuild?
The Blazers have the young assets to have a very strong rebuild at this point, as they have organically been bad enough with Dame to get good draft picks. This might be the perfect time to move Dame and maximize their future assets while building with an already built young core. Out of respect to the franchise legend, it’s unlikely that the Blazers will hastily move on from Dame.
The No. 3 pick seems likely to be Scoot Henderson, who is a generational guard prospect. It’ll be tough to accommodate him onto the Blazers’ roster as currently constructed, so a major trade is definitely coming out of the Blazers this summer. It’ll be intriguing to see whether that involves their pick or Dame.
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