The Portland Trail Blazers' abrupt recent turn in short-term priorities and team-building philosophy had already cast more doubt on the possibility of Damian Lillard returning this season. After his steam stood pat on Thursday at an otherwise wild trade deadline, the slim chances of Lillard coming back in 2021-22 effectively vanished altogether.
During a post-deadline press conference with Chauncey Billups and team CFO Dewayne Hankins, interim GM Joe Cronin all but confirmed what the Blazers' recent moves made seem like a formality: Lillard's season is “most likely” over.
Lillard had abdominal surgery on January 13th, addressing longstanding pain in his midsection that contributed to his career-worst start to the season. Though Portland initially announced he'd “miss at least six weeks,” the safe assumption ever since he went under the knife is that he'd only return to the court upon gaining full health if the Blazers were in playoff contention.
Portland began retooling the roster on February 3rd, moving Powell and Covington to the LA Clippers in a cost-cutting deal that prioritized big-picture flexibility over immediate on-court success. McCollum and Nance were dealt to the New Orleans Pelicans in a similar deal on Tuesday, solidifying the Blazers' full shift into tank mode over the season's remainder—exactly what Lillard had already insisted would keep him sidelined.
“If we are going to play for a draft pick, it wouldn’t make sense for me…because I’m not going to play for no draft pick,” he said on January 22nd, per Jason Quick of The Athletic. “I’m just not capable of that. So it would be best, if that was what we were doing or what was decided, then it wouldn’t make sense for me to play.”
Portland owes its 2022 first-round pick to the Chicago Bulls it falls outside the lottery. At 22-34, the Blazers are 11th in the Western Conference, one game behind McCollum and the Pelicans for the last spot in the play-in tournament.
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