Damian Lillard has been one of the most loyal stars in the NBA. He has spent all of his career thus far with the franchise that drafted him, the Portland Trail Blazers. However, aside from one Conference Finals run during the 2018-19 season, the Portland Trail Blazers haven’t been able to get far in the playoffs.
There have been a lot of reports this offseason that suggested Damian Lillard will request a trade from the Portland Trail Blazers during the offseason. If Lillard does that, then he will likely want to go to a contender that gives him a real chance of winning a championship.
The situation in Portland isn’t that different from James Harden and the Houston Rockets ahead of and during the 2019-20 season. James Harden notably forced his way out of Houston and ended up getting traded to the Brooklyn Nets and creating a superteam with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. Henry Abbott of True Hoop has suggested that Damian Lillard could take a similar course of action, and would reportedly be willing to miss out on paychecks if the Trail Blazers don’t trade him if he asks out.
Damian Lillard is willing to forgo paychecks if he decides he wants a trade from the Blazers and the franchise doesn't oblige him, per @TrueHoop
Lillard will also try to influence what team he ends up playing for.
(h/t @RealGM ) pic.twitter.com/PcwiitDzfo
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) July 27, 2021
It is clear that Damian Lillard simply wants to win. While he is obviously a loyal player, years of not getting very far in the playoffs must be disappointing to a superstar of his caliber. The scenario of Lillard forgoing paychecks would likely happen only if he ends up requesting a trade, and there is still some time for the Portland Trail Blazers to fix the situation. Portland needs to make a win-now move to get Lillard some help, and they could potentially do so before the start of the season. Hopefully, the Portland Trail Blazers can make moves to improve their roster, and perhaps a Damian Lillard trade request can still be averted.
