Best Landing Spots For Damian Lillard
NBA 75 member and Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard is again in trade talks this offseason. Every offseason has featured speculation on Lillard’s future as a Blazer for years. Recently, Lillard said the Miami Heat would be his preferred landing spot. Other teams mentioned during this saga include the Brooklyn Nets and the Boston Celtics. While these three teams may be the most talked about, there are a couple of other teams people should not sleep on. Let’s rank the top five landing spots for Damian Lillard. Not all of these spots have been under speculation, but these spots are reasonable and give Lillard a shot at a title. The Trail Blazers are not on this list, but with the right moves, they could run it back and be competitive.
If the Trailblazers and Damian Lillard ever decided to pursue a hypothetical trade, the Portland Trailblazers would assist in sending Lillard to his desired location in the East, per Chris Haynes
— NBACentral (@TheNBACentral) June 8, 2023
“If it gets to that point, they would consult with Dame. He’s been there 10 years,… pic.twitter.com/2FaAFk34XY
Number 5: Minnesota Timberwolves
Damian Lillard averages 25.2 points per game against the Timberwolves in his career. Photo Credit: Cody Sharrett.
Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards is someone cut from a different cloth. The franchise seems to be shifting the focus to building around the young all-star if they have not already. This move would be difficult considering the Timberwolves gave up so much to get center Rudy Gobert. Also, the Timberwolves only have two first-round picks in the next four years, plus new CBA rules can make maneuvering these draft picks difficult. Minnesota would also have to move on from one of Karl-Anthony Towns or Gobert.
However, in trading one of the two, the Timberwolves could make one of the most electric backcourts in the NBA in Lillard and Edwards. This duo can go shot for shot with the best of them. Alongside the scoring output from this duo, if the Timberwolves can retain Gobert and Jaden McDaniels in the trade, this would be the best defensive unit Lillard has played with in his career. Minnesota was the eighth seed and had very few healthy games together. A season of Edwards and Lillard could propel the Wolves into top-six-seed territory in the wild western conference.
Number 4: Miami Heat
Damian Lillard said Miami was his “obvious” choice if he were to be traded. Photo Credit: Sports Illustrated.
The Miami Heat are currently in the NBA Finals, and the thought of adding Lillard to this squad should be every Heat fan’s dream. Lillard is a good friend of Heat Center Bam Adebayo, but getting Lillard without trading Adebayo could be difficult. The package of Tyler Herro, Caleb Martin, and picks would be the basis of the trade. Herro’s trade stock hasn’t grown due to him missing this entire postseason. It also doesn’t help the Heat seem to have found an offensive groove without him. However, Herro is still a very good young player, and the Blazers should still look to trade for a young piece like that to help lead a rebuild.
Jimmy Butler and Lillard would be one of the fiercest duos in basketball. The two are known as certified killers on the court with their clutch shot-making ability and their ability to rally people around them down the stretch. The Heat found themselves in the eighth seed due to poor offense throughout the year. Lillard would solve that problem very fast.
Number 3: Philadelphia 76ers
Damian Lillard averages 24.5 points per game against the Sixers in his career. Photo Credit: Sportskeeda
At this point in Joel Embiid’s career, he doesn’t need James Harden or Ben Simmons to help him set up his shot. What the MVP needs next to him is someone who can make plays, but is a bonafide killer. Jimmy Butler was once that guy, but there were questionable decisions made that off-season. For Philadelphia, there probably is not a trade package that won’t include Tyrese Maxey, and Harden will most likely have to be off the team for salary reasons. It is all worth it though.
Two stars and a group of hounds on defense have been the formula for winning championships after the Superteam era. A package of Maxey, Tobias Harris, and a plethora of picks leaves Philadelphia with guys like De’Anthony Melton, Paul Reed, and PJ Tucker who were instrumental in the small success the Sixers had this postseason. This trade could put Philadelphia over the hump.
Number 2: New York Knicks
Josh Hart and Damian Lillard played with each other in Portland before Hart was traded to New York. Photo Credit: Alina Jenner/Getty Images
The New York Knicks have found a guy they want to build around in Jalen Brunson. Brunson had an unreal playoff run with Julius Randle playing subpar once again in the postseason. The Knicks’ decision on who to build off of from here should be easy. New York should center a trade package around Randle and draft picks to try and acquire Lillard. The tough decision comes into play when the Blazers ask for young star R.J. Barrett. Whether the Knicks accept or not all depends on how win-now they are. If you plan on trading for Lillard, you better be ready to go all in.
The backcourt of Brunson and Lillard is an elite scoring duo. The size and defense would be a problem, but players like Mitchell Robinson and Quinten Grimes around them should help fix that issue. Josh Hart testing the market instead of taking his player option is a tough blow for the Knicks, but that doesn’t mean resigning him to a new deal is out of the picture. Retaining Hart would add even more defensive presence to the lethal scoring duo.
Number 1: Boston Celtics
Damian Lillard reportedly does not want to go to Boston. Photo Credit: David Butler II/ USA TODAY Sports
According to Chris Haynes, Lillard doesn’t want to be in Boston. However, this list is the best spot for Lillard to win a championship. The trade package will center around All-NBA 2nd team member Jaylen Brown and one of Boston’s guards. Derrick White and Malcolm Brogdon were great while it lasted, but one of these players is getting plugged into the Lillard trade. For this example, we will put Brogdon and a first-round pick along with Brown into the trade.
Automatically, Jayson Tatum gets the best player he has ever played with. What Lillard brings to the table that Brown couldn’t is playmaking when Tatum is off the floor. Staggering minutes between two borderline top-10 players with good rotational pieces to work around them should make them favorites in at least the East. Derrick White will most likely be coming off the bench again, but he can be the lead man off the bench and be a great running mate for Lillard or Tatum with the other on the bench. Lillard also adds much-needed experience for Joe Mazzulla.
Final thoughts
There are plenty of teams that can trade for Lillard and make moves to become a contender. There are also contenders now who can get him but need to work around the new CBA rules to make trades and cap space work. Overall, these five teams have some assets to work with and have a good shot at contending by just trading for Lillard.
