The Portland Trail Blazers are sitting on the biggest piece available in the trade market, as Damian Lillard is ready to end his 12-year association with the franchise to push for a winning situation at the age of 33.
Lillard has zoned in on the Miami Heat being the only destination he wants to end up in. This has been controversial, but Stephen A. Smith has supported Lillard, saying he’s earned the right to pick a team.
“I respectfully want to submit to folks in the industry who have been critical of Damian Lillard – shut the hell up… You ain’t going no damn where anywhere anyway for the foreseeable future if you’re the Portland Trail Blazers. People acting like Damian Lillard is doing something wrong by literally telling you where he wants to go. It is not a crime, he has earned that right.”
We have seen superstars ask out without the loyalty Lillard has shown for over a decade. It’s fair for Lillard to expect Portland to do right by him and send him to Miami, but similarly, it’s also fair for Portland to check what the market will be willing to part with for a player like Lillard.
Who’s To Blame?
After years of spouting loyalty, Lillard asked out after the team got their next generational superstar in Scoot Henderson. For spending all the extra season trying to help the Blazers win, Lillard is entitled to some special consideration.
The franchise not looking to honor his request and making a deal with Miami has to hurt Dame a little bit, especially given the team had talks with teams like the Utah Jazz.
A middle ground needs to be found, otherwise, Portland will come out looking bad in the long run. There are still two months in the offseason, so it’ll be interesting to see how this time plays out and if Lillard will wear a Blazers jersey next season. He averaged 32.2 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 7.3 assists last season and was named to the All-NBA Second Team, proving he still has a lot of on-court value.
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