We've all seen the photoshops, right? Every single year dozens, if not hundreds of Los Angeles Lakers faithful put in some major effort to slip in their favorite NBA All-Stars into some Purple and Gold jerseys. Lakers fan or not, you have to admit, those edits usually look.. not terrible.
Just a quick search on Twitter gave me some pretty decent results. Laker Nation's latest superstar apple of their eye? Portland Trail Blazers stud Damian Lillard. If you're a Lakers fan, check these ones out. If you're a Blazers fan, feel free to close your tab. (Just kidding, please keep reading.)
It’s time. @KingJames, @AntDavis23 make the call. pic.twitter.com/HqTVQyt0yR
— Bee 🐝 (@RobCast6) June 4, 2021
Manifesting Damian Lillard to the Lakers 🙏😈 pic.twitter.com/nLdiW56vi5
— NBA SKITS (@NBA_Skits) June 2, 2021
make it happen @Lakers pic.twitter.com/bLjBpkPgBY
— LakeShowYo (@LakeShowYo) June 4, 2021
@Dame_Lillard Welcome to the lakers #LakeShow pic.twitter.com/joBoNhx98B
— eddyflEuRis (@MweneAsapROCKY) June 2, 2021
To be fair to these Lakers delusions, they've had their wishes granted in recent years. People scoffed at them throughout the past decade as they hoped superstars would flock to be their next franchise savior, only to be spurned time and again. But then LeBron James did exactly that, with Anthony Davis joining him shortly after. Suddenly, it was okay to dream big in La La Land again.
3 Reasons Lakers fans must end dreams of Damian Lillard
But to be perfectly frank, Damian Lillard is not walking through their offseason door no matter how tight the photoshops look or how many mentions he gets on Twitter. Here are three (3) clear-cut reasons why Damian Lillard is NOT joining the Lakers for the 2021-22 NBA season:
(1) Lakers have a horrible trade package for Lillard
The most obvious reason it's not going to happen is that the Lakers just don't have the trade assets necessary to pull off a deal of this magnitude. Damian Lillard is a bona fide top 10 player in this league. Acquiring a player of his caliber would require an immense treasure trove of assets.
While we saw what it took to acquire James Harden, Jrue Holiday, and Paul George in recent years, it's arguable that the Blazers star would be worth even more than the packages it took to trade for those stars. Damian Lillard is locked into his contract up until 2024-25, and that's without a player option in sight. By then, LeBron James will be 41 years old.
The Milwaukee Bucks traded basically all their future first round picks to the New Orleans Pelicans for Jrue Holiday. The 1-time All-Star had just one year remaining on his contract before eventually signing an extension, which brought some level of risk in the deal despite the huge payout they sent the Pels.
James Harden and Paul George commanded even more than that, and rightly so. Beyond the first round picks and opportunities to swap, the Houston Rockets also got Caris LeVert in the Harden deal. While they eventually flipped him for a gimpy Victor Oladipo, that's their business. The Oklahoma City Thunder received an even better package of picks and an even better young talent in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Both those stars had two years on their deal plus an additional player option, which pales in comparison to Lillard's four guaranteed years with full team control.
Securing the services of an all-time talent like Damian Lillard for four years, considering how drama-free he is as a player, should command the largest trade package we've seen in a very long time. Some combination of Kyle Kuzma, Talen Horton-Tucker, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and back-end first round picks just isn't going to cut it.
(2) Dame doesn't fit the LeBron sidekick mold
Some stars are willing to play in the shadow of LeBron James, while some aren't. Anthony Davis perfectly fits that sidekick mold. A multiple-time All-Star who seemed rudderless throughout his career and needed to latch onto the gravity of LeBron James' universe to find his footing.
But some stars just don't seem too keen to play under those circumstances, while only being a clear second-banana to the King. Depending on how you feel about Anthony Davis, Lillard might have to take the third chair on the Lakers' banana boat. We saw how Kawhi Leonard spurned the Lakers during the summer of 2019, instead choosing to build his own Los Angeles squad from across town. While Leonard never exactly clarified why he spurned the Purple and Gold, you get the sense that he wasn't too keen on playing second fiddle to King James.
While this is admittedly just speculation, Lillard gives off major Kawhi vibes in that regard. It's not to say that Lillard would crumble under the intense spotlight. On the contrary, he'd thrive in it. Dame Time – Hollywood Edition would be absolutely sick. But the guy hasn't exactly been chasing limelight and clout while quietly going about his business in Portland.
Damian Lillard's loyal, low-key demeanor paints a portrait of a man who'd rather build something special by developing and cultivating talent rather than joining a couple of superstars. If he was all about that, he'd have demanded for bigger moves in the past or requested a trade himself years ago.
(3) The Blazers won't want to create another Lakers dynasty
Refusing to trade your disgruntled star to one of your division rivals is really more of an NFL or MLB thing. After all, divisional matchups matter much more for those leagues in terms of seeding, and the number of contests played against each other is a much higher figure relative to the NBA.
The Lakers and Blazers are in the same conference, but don't even share the same division. They'll only play each other a maximum of four games per year during the regular season. But even then, Portland would probably wince at the thought of trading Damian Lillard to LA.
Forget the lousy trade package that the Lakers have to offer. If Portland had the equal choice between trading their decade-long face of their franchise to some Eastern Conference team or the Los Angeles Lakers, what do you think they'll go for? Creating an absolute behemoth squad with an already massive fanbase that would tout Lillard endlessly isn't the most appealing reality for the Blazers.
But then again, all this is moot if Damian Lillard himself asks to join the Los Angeles Lakers. That is the only real possibility of this scenario happening. Despite the fact it's against his character to force the Blazers into taking a shoddy trade package in return, Portland owes it to him to ship him wherever his heart desires.
Follow Us
Subscribe