Should Damian Lillard Want Out of Portland?

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The Portland Trail Blazers are in between a rock and a hard place here with their newly drafted player Scoot Henderson and their star player Damian Lillard. Henderson wants to play with Lillard but Lillard does not seem to reciprocate the same feeling. During the meeting yesterday between the two parties, the world was shocked when Lillard did not ask out of Portland. With everything going on in the NBA, and the world finally witnessing that teams are not as loyal as they claim to be, we were all in a position to expect Lillard to get traded. When that didn’t go through and Lillard did not request out, Portland was stuck with no real plan. I think I have a scenario in which Lillard might stay and Portland can get the most out of Henderson offensively.

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Draymond Green

The Veteran leadership of Draymond Green is unrivaled in this league, it seems that Portland wants more veteran leadership for their otherwise younger team. This makes sense for a lot of reasons. First, Portland is not a good defensive team, but Green is one of the best defenders in the NBA. I think bringing that onto the Trailblazers would certainly boost their defensive percentage, and also, which goes into my next point, he can open up the floor for a lot of these young players. Shaedon Sharpe has shown that he is not some scrub in a basketball uniform and can actually ball. With those three plus Lillard and Henderson, the team can have many more open looks at that basket.

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Khris Middleton

Khris Middleton, a three-point offensive guru from the championship Milwaukee Bucks has opted out of his contract will Milwaukee and will hit free agency. The Rockets have an interest in signing him, however, I don’t think that signing moves the needle for them. However, with the Blazers I feel like Middleton can make a splash. They would have to give up on Jerami Grant and not resign him, which could be detrimental to the Blazers, but Middleton is an ex-champion that can be a second veteran leadership figure next to Lillard.

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Kyle Kuzma

I think Kuzma can be a vital piece on a Portland team. With Henderson and Sharpe being on rookie contracts, this is a good time to get Kuzma on an advantageous contract so they can start to win. I think Henderson by himself can make an instant impact for the Blazers, but with reliable shooters around him, while getting slightly older, I think this could be a very good plan for Portland. With rumors of the Kings gaining momentum for Kuzma, it’s probably unlikely to happen, and Portland may be out of luck. However, if I was Kuzma I would at least keep my eye on Portland and see how everything shapes out.