The Los Angeles Lakers and the Portland Trail Blazers are currently playing the first round of the playoffs, with the Lakers having a 3-1 advantage over their rivals, who started the series with a 100-93 win. If it wasn’t for Damian Lillard, it would’ve been very hard to see the Blazers playing in the postseason; he’s one of the best players in the league and his level has improved season after season.
Last summer, the Lakers turned their heads to the talented point guard and they had plans to team up Dame and LeBron before they took a different path and traded for Anthony Davis of the New Orleans Pelicans. Instead of chasing the big man, they would’ve put their attention on the point guard, which would have been a terrific move.
“A source with knowledge of Lillard’s situation said there was Lakers interest in a superstar pairing with Lillard and LeBron James before the Davis deal went down in June 2019,” Sam Amick of The Athletic wrote.
Lillard signed a huge deal last summer with the Blazers and the Lakers landed Davis in exchange for a group of young players and draft picks. Rumors still link Dame with a move away from Portland and the Lakers seem like a very good destination for him. However, he’s stated over and over that he’s not about joining other stars to make a superteam.
Still, as things stand right now, that appears to be the only way Dame can win a championship. He put up a career-high 30.0 points on 40.1 percent shooting from distance and 8.0 assists per game in the regular season and plenty of people believe what he’s doing is remarkable, but Damian is wasting his best years in a team with no real aspirations.
