NBA Trade Rumors: The Portland Trail Blazers should trade Damian Lillard, not attempt to acquire Ben Simmons.
This might be an ideal time for the Portland Trail Blazers to hit the hard reset button. As the front office heads into a bit of a transition, after firing general manager and president of basketball operations Neil Olshey, perhaps it’s also time for a bit of change as it pertains to the roster.
But as Damian Lillard pushes for the front office to trade for Ben Simmons, who is clearly on the trade block, there’s another side to this potential situation. What if the Blazers were to trade Lillard?
And there’s a case to be made for it. Depending on who you ask, a strong one.
First, there’s a pretty obvious case – the front office is getting a fresh new leader and it wouldn’t be outrageous for him to want to shape the roster in the way he wants to build a team – and perhaps Lillard is the trade piece to get him the ammunition he needs to start. Then again, Lillard is the type of player that makes everything so much easier for a new general manager.
Secondly, Lillard, for as great as a player that he’s been, is on the wrong side of 30 and might (maybe) perhaps already experiencing a bit of a decline in his game – Lillard is on pace to have the worst statically efficient season of his career thus far. He’s averaging 21 points and eight assists on just 40 percent shooting from the field and 30 percent shooting from 3-point range.
It’s only been 20 games, but that’s often a large enough sample size that could indicate a strong trend. And that would not be kind to the Lillard-backers. If this trend continues, there’s a chance that his trade value is never going to be as high as it is at this moment.
And thirdly, there’s another great chance that this core of Lillard and CJ McCollum has already reached its peak. They made a surprise run to the conference finals a few years ago, but they have taken a step back in every season since – including this year in which they are 11-14 and currently outside the top 8 in the Western Conference.
Looking at the rest of the West, there’s a good chance that even with an added piece such as Ben Simmons, that the Blazers are not going to be good enough to compete with the likes of the Phoenix Suns or Golden State Warriors anytime soon.
Before the Blazers elect to make a rash move to trade for Simmons, perhaps it would be in their best interest to really take a strong look at perhaps hitting the reset button. It may very well be in the best interest of their long-term future to trade Lillard and not pursue Simmons.