Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard just experienced the roughest year of his professional career. Between his offseason drama, in-season injuries and the team’s general inability to make it to the playoffs – it was one thing after another.
Naturally, the chatter surrounding Lillard’s future in Portland has grown louder and louder in recent months. Three teams are currently circling the waters, praying that he forces his way off the Blazers.
But according to Lillard, he has no intention of doing that.
In fact, there is only one condition under which he’ll accept going to a new squad.
“If they came to me and they wanted to trade me — I’m not going to fight them on wanting to trade me,” Lillard said this week in an interview with Jabari Young of CNBC. “I don’t want to be anywhere I’m not wanted. But I don’t think that’s the case.”
By all accounts, that is not the case.
Thus far Lillard has been very adamant that he has not and will not request a trade from the Blazers. His rationale is a bit dubious, but nevertheless – for now he remains loyal to Portland.
That being said, if circumstances align in such a way where Lillard getting dealt is impossible to avoid, people close to him have indicated that there is one team in particular he would love to end up with.
Whether or not it will ultimately come to fruition remains to be seen.
Now that’s how you do Coachella. https://t.co/DOYCX3jOFi
— Game 7 (@game7__) April 17, 2022
This is shaping up to be a big offseason for the Blazers. If they can make some moves, add some key pieces and retool appropriately for 2022-23 – it wouldn’t be a stretch to see them as a top-tier team in the Western Conference come next year.
But if they come in with the same roster, sans one key piece, expecting better results – next season could prove to be even more disappointing than this one was.
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A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
