Damian Lillard is one of the best players in the league right now. He can score from all three levels, run an offense, and is one of the best performers in the clutch. There aren’t many talents like him in the NBA.
Lillard had repeatedly stated that he intended to play for one team and one team only throughout his career. As long as they wanted him to stay there, he vowed to retire in RIP City as the best player in franchise history.
But, given the current status of the Portland Trail Blazers, some reports state that ‘Dame D.O.L.L.A. wants to leave the franchise and will likely request a trade in the next couple of days.
Report: Damian Lillard Will Request A Trade
“Damian Lillard plans to request a trade from the Portland Trail Blazers at some point over the next few days, a source close to the player tells TrueHoop,” reported RealGM. “Lillard is signed through 2024, which gives him little leverage in forcing his way out to a preferred destination. The Philadelphia 76ers, New York Knicks and Golden State Warriors have been mentioned prominently in trade rumors involving Lillard.”
NBA Rumors: The Massive Trade Offer That Could Send Lillard To The Lakers
Damian Lillard. (Getty)
But, beside those teams,the Los Angeles Lakers have always been fond of Lillard as well. And given his relationship with LeBron James, some believe that it could be a potential destination for him.
We previously reported the best and most realistic trade scenarios for Damian Lillard, including a not-so-appealing offer from the Lakers. But, if they’re really serious in their pursuit for Dame, perhaps they could take their pitch up a notch and make this offer proposed by Fadeaway World’s Lee Tran.
Trade Offer:Kyle Kuzma, Talen Horton-Tucker, Montrezl Harrell, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Alex Caruso (Sign and Trade), No. 22 Pick in the 2021 NBA Draft for Damian Lillard.
If Lillard is – indeed – eager to leave the Blazers, theleast they can do is let him have a say in his next destination. That’s what they should do out of respect for him, but that’s not the way it goes sometimes.
With this offer, the Portland Trail Blazers would get a potential building block in Talen Horton-Tucker, while they could test the water and see whether Kyle Kuzma can become the 25+ points-per-game scorer he says he can be.
Montrezl Harrell could also solve their woes on the glass, especially if Jusuf Nurkic walks away as expected, while they would add two very good backcourt defenders in Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Alex Caruso.
If everything fails, all of the players aforementioned would be great trade bait and bring some nice draft capital in return. They could also move on from CJ McCollum and try and build around Horton-Tucker, who many scouts believe has star potential.
As for the Lakers, they would be giving up most of their depth to form a Big 3 consisting of Lillard, LeBron James, and Anthony Davis. They would have all three stars under contract for at least an extra couple of yearswhile having enough flexibility to surround them by veterans on minimum contracts. Also, they could even add Andre Drummond to the mix if he agrees to take a pay cut.
We’re not saying any of this is going to happen. What we’re saying is that if Lillard wants to play for a championship contender, the Lakers could make a strong push to get him, and big-market teams usually get whatever and whoever they want.
