With the season of the Portland Trail Blazers on the brink of another disappointing conclusion, Damian Lillard will mark another lost year in his career. This has been the case for him in Portland over the past few seasons, and it comes to no surprise that opposing teams have tried to lure him away from the Blazers at every possible opportunity. Two of these teams are the Los Angles Lakers and the Brooklyn Nets, who reportedly entered talks into potentially trading for the All-Star point guard last summer.
This report comes via Sam Amick of The Athletic:
A source with knowledge of Lillard’s situation said there was Lakers interest in a superstar pairing with Lillard and LeBron James before the Davis deal went down in June 2019. What’s more, the source said there was a Brooklyn Nets scenario that never evolved which could have paired Kevin Durant with Lillard last summer if only he’d shown any interest (this was before Kyrie Irving’s inclusion had truly crystallized). Of course some of the game’s biggest stars, and/or the power brokers tied to them, have inquired about the possibility of Lillard pushing his way out to come join them.
Ironically, it's the Lakers who are now just a win away from ending Lillard and the Blazers' 2019-20 campaign. Even prior to bringing Anthony Davis to Hollywood, the Lakers were already the heavy favorites to land the prized big man the moment he demanded a trade from the New Orleans Pelicans months earlier. The Lillard coup was probably some sort of contingency plan had the Davis deal fallen apart.
The same can be said about the Brooklyn Nets. Kevin Durant probably would not have joined the Nets had it not been for Kyrie Irving (and vice versa), so a Durant-Lillard pairing in Brooklyn sounds even more improbable than the Lillard-to-LA rumor.
Whatever the case may be, Lillard is still a Blazer at this point. He has reaffirmed his loyalty to the team time and time again, and not even a disheartening first-round exit will change his mind. Right?
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