Portland Trail Blazers: What’s the plan if Damian Lillard is shut down?
What are the next steps if the Portland Trail Blazers shut Damian Lillard down for the remainder of the season?
The Portland Trail Blazers have arguably been the most disappointing team in the NBA this season. Even when they were fully healthy, this team left much to be desired. Despite all that, Damian Lillard has maintained that he doesn’t plan on asking out and that he wants to win in Portland.
Assuming none of that has changed recently, the Blazers are in an interesting position. They know they need to improve the roster to appease Lillard, but also don’t exactly have many options in doing so.
Plus, they’re sitting on what appears to be a lost season. So much so that there’s a good chance that the team will elect to shut Lillard down for the remainder of the season as he battles an abdomen injury that has sidelined him recently.
The team could elect to allow him to fully recover and focus on next season, rather than shut him down and bring him back for a meaningless push toward the playoffs. As it currently stands, the Blazers are 16-24, already four games back of the 8th seed.
Who knows how much further back in the standings the Blazers will be once Lillard is fully healthy and ready to roll from this most recent injury. It makes sense for the team to shut Lillard down; it’s probably in the best interest of both the player and team.
But if that were to happen, what would be the next move for the team? That’s where it gets interesting.
For one, the Blazers would need to use the time ahead of the trade deadline to either get the team in a better position heading into the offseason or to land a big-time player – perhaps Ben Simmons.
If that’s not something that happens, with Lillard on the sideline, then I’m not sure what the end game here is for the Blazers.
The Blazers are toeing a fine line right now. They need to retool the team around Lillard in an attempt to give him the best opportunity to compete for a championship. Right now, this core has reached its peak.
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Whether they like it or not, the front office needs to realize that and get to work. They’ve already entered this season and flat out wasted it due to their relative inactivity during the last offseason. They can’t follow that same blueprint heading into this one.