We've all heard this story before. Rumors of Damian Lillard on the brink of requesting a trade away from the Portland Trail Blazers only for the All-Star point guard to squash all whispers by declaring his unwavering loyalty to the franchise. As it turns out, however, things might actually be different this time around.
It was during this previous offseason when rumors of a potential Lillard exit were arguably as loud as ever, with teams such as the Philadelphia 76ers, the New York Knicks, and the Golden State Warriors, among others, all linked to a sensational swoop for the six-time All-NBA point guard. Dame then came out with a sweeping statement saying that he's not going anywhere. According to NBA insider Kevin O'Connor, however, this might all be part of Lillard and the Blazers' masterful plan to maximize his market value in preparation for a blockbuster trade:
“(Damian Lillard) goes from making these vague comments about, ‘Yeah, I don’t know how long I’ll be here' like weeks before the season to suddenly ‘I’m all in,'” O'Connor said in a recent episode of his podcast. “There are front office executives around the league who think this is a strategic choice by the Blazers, Dame’s group and all that in order to create leverage for the organization because right now around the league teams just want Dame. They don’t they don’t want CJ McCollum, they don’t want Jusuf Nurkic. They’re like, ‘We’re gonna wait for Dame to demand a trade.'”
Could this actually be true? Lillard is one of the last remaining lifers in the NBA, and he has already proven his loyalty to the Blazers time and time again. Nevertheless, it is becoming increasingly clear at this point that as much as he loves the city of Portland and the organization, winning a championship with the Blazers still remains to be a pipe dream for Dame.
As mentioned earlier, last summer's developments cast a huge doubt on Lillard's future in Portland. It felt like he was about to demand a trade at any second only for the six-time All-Star to do a sensational rug-pull by once again declaring his loyalty for the Blazers. This seems like a series of events that merely repeats itself every single year. At this point, however, it's very much possible that both Lillard and the Blazers have reached the end of the road.
For Dame, making a move to a title contender instantly boosts his chances of winning a championship. At 31, Lillard is not getting any younger and his window will be closing sooner rather than later. He won't want to leave his beloved Blazers for nothing, though, and he will want to give them as much as he can on his way out.
While this master plan admittedly sounds a bit unlikely, there's also no denying that logically speaking, this actually makes a lot of sense — especially for the Blazers who will want to get a major haul in a potential Lillard trade. For his part, Dame is likely to be willing to take part in such a masterful scheme simply because it will benefit the organization and the city that he's been loyal to through all these years.
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