The Portland-Dame Disaster

Damian Lillard has been one of the most loyal stars we have seen in NBA history. He was drafted by the Portland Trail Blazers in the 2012 NBA Draft and has become one of the best Point Guards in the league. Unfortunately, Portland has not been able to build a roster with Dame. Portland has not even made the NBA finals with Damian Lillard. Their best season with Dame has been the 2018-19 season where they made the Western Conference Finals losing to the Golden State Warriors. And now, Damian Lillard has finally requested a trade from the Portland Trail Blazers. No one doubles Dame's loyalty because he did not leave the Trail Blazers when they were missing the playoffs. He gave his prime years to Portland and now wants to play for a contender. He wanted the Trail Blazers to use their cap space and the No. 3 Overall Pick to build a contender around him but they just ended up drafting Scoot Henderson and signed Jerami Grant to a max contract. But Damian Lillard has yet to be traded to his preferred destination (Miami Heat) and there isn't a huge market for Damian Lillard. What if I had to tell you that the reason Dame isn't getting traded is because of the Brooklyn Nets. We will explain this entire situation in this article and also answer why Portland could not build a contender around Dame, and what would happen if Dame is not traded to Miami before the season starts.

Why could Portland not build a contender around Dame?

Portland is a small market city. A superstar would want to go to a big market city like Los Angeles, New York, or Miami so that they can expand their brand and be under the limelight. A small market city like Milwaukee or Portland is less likely to get a star player than a city like Boston or San Fransisco. And this is where the main problem exists. Portland has not been able to attract any star player to their team. The last all-star teammate Damian Lillard had was LaMarcus Aldridge. Except for that, he has had players like CJ McCollum, Josh Hart, and most recently Jerami Grant. 

Why aren't there many teams trying to trade for Damian Lillard?

The reason could be his age and contract. Damian Lillard is 33, and his supermax contract begins when he turns 35. He just had the best season of his career and there is no guarantee that he will continue to perform at this level and get paid $60 Million Per Year. But the salary cap can increase by 10% a year so $60 Million may look like nothing in a couple of years. So trading for him will not be that difficult right. Well, there is another major reason why Damian Lillard is not getting traded which is up next.

How have the Brooklyn Nets disrupted the Damian Lillard Saga?

The Brooklyn Nets were trying to trade Kevin Durant for a massive package. They demanded an all-star caliber player, 2 good role players, and 4 first-round picks for Kevin Durant. Kevin Durant has had a history of injuries and was also a reason the Brooklyn Nets were a 7th seed in the 2021-22 season. Still, teams were calling for him and Phoenix ended up trading for him in exchange for Mikal Bridges, Cameron Johnson, Jae Crowder, and 4 first-round picks. This trade had reset the trade market and now Portland wants a similar package for Damian Lillard who had the best season of his career, is a year younger than Kevin Durant, and does not have a major injury history. But the problem is that Damian Lillard does not want to go to any other team except for the Miami Heat and Miami's best offer was Tyler Herro, Ducan Robinson, and 3 first-round picks. The offer is okay because there might be better players who are offered for Damian Lillard and Miami's picks are always high so most of the prospects available are early second-round prospects. Portland wants to be ready for the Scoot Henderson-Shadeon Sharpe era by trading one of the most valuable trade assets available in the trade market. The front office doe not want to trade Damian Lillard for peanuts on the dollar(ie: Bradley Beal) and have almost nothing to rebuild with.

What happens now with Dame?

I think  Damian Lillard will be in 3 possible situations. The 3 situations are:

1) Damian Lillard ends up on the Miami Heat before training camp

In this situation, Portland realize that there isn't much of a market for Damian Lillard and instead of ruining his trade value, they trade him for whatever is there on the table. I think this could be possible because if there isn't any other team except for the Miami Heat, then maybe it will be in Portland's best interest to trade for whatever they get 

2) Miami adds more assets to complete this trade

 I don't think this will happen but maybe Pat Riley realizes during training camp that Damian Lillard makes them a true championship team and they add more assets such as Caleb Martin or maybe Nikola Jovic which completes this trade. I think this is the least likely of all scenarios because Pat Riley is a really hard negotiator so it is not likely that they add more assets to this trade. 

3) Another team comes into the Damian Lillard sweepstakes

 Damian Lillard has refused to join training camp until he gets traded to a new team but he is under contract for the next 4 years so if he misses training camp, he will be fined by the NBA. Portland has all the leverage in this situation so if there are other teams with better offers, Damian Lillard has to agree wherever he gets traded. I think there won't be teams in the offseason but there might be teams coming up before or during the trade deadline. For example, If there are teams just sitting above .500 in win percentage, then they might choose to go all in. An example of this kind of team could be the 2022 Phoenix Suns. They traded for Kevin Durant at the trade deadline and went 8-0 when Kevin Durant was healthy. Possible teams I would find at the .500 during the trade deadline are the Brooklyn Nets or the Philadelphia 76ers. I will break down which teams (other than the Miami Heat) possibly have a chance at getting Damian Lillard

Brooklyn Nets - Damian Lillard said that he either wanted to go to the Miami Heat or the Brooklyn Nets. They do have a good young roster with Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson, Nic Claxton and Spencer Dinwiddie. This roster might just make the playoffs but won't go past the 1st round. That is where Damian Lillard comes in and makes this team a contender. They not only have the assets Portland needs but also will become a championship contender. Although I don't think this is very likely, but if Dame is not traded before the trade deadline, the Nets might swoop in and trade for him. 

Philadelphia 76ers - The 76ers have been potential championship contenders but have never made it past the second round and now, they might lose their championship window. Key players like James Harden, Tobias Harris, and Tyrese Maxey will hit free agency next year and Joel Embiid might want to win a championship somewhere else, which could mean that they have nothing to build their core around in the future. If the Philadephia 76ers trade for Damian Lillard, they will not only be able to contend for a championship but also can retain Joel Embiid

What do I think will happen?

I think Damian Lillard will remain on Trail Blazers until Miami increases their trade offer or another team gives a better trade offer. Until then, Damian Lillard will be kept hostage by Portland because he has no leverage. He has 4 years on his contract and Portland can just keep rebuilding without him playing for them. Another team that is rebuilding is the Washington Wizards. But their rebuild is a little different and maybe worse than Portland's rebuild. I have explained it down here and have also broken down how a team would ideally build their championship-contending team with the new CBA regulations. If you liked our blog, comment, follow us by clicking on our profile, and share this blog. Until then, thank you so much for viewing our blog.

The Washington Wizards Disaster