The Portland Trail Balzers continue to be a really stubborn team moving forward.
They’re 11-15 heading into the weekend, they’re also the 11th seed in the Western Conference, which means they wouldn’t even make it for a play-in game if the postseason started.
And yet, they refuse to even discuss Damian Lillard in a trade talk, as they told the Philadelphia 76ers that Lillard is off-limits in any trade discussions, especially for Ben Simmons.
Lillard is 31 years old and has two more guaranteed signed seasons left with Portland. There’s also a player option on his deal too, and that’s a key thing.
Say Portland doesn’t get any closer to building a championship by the time Lillard is 33, then what? Will,Lillard decline his option and become a free agent to sign with say, the Los Angeles Lakers or the New York Knicks?
Lillard is also reportedly looking for a 2-year, $107 million extension to make him the highest paid player in the league, which would end a lot of the trade speculation in the recent future.
Portland shouldn’t sign Lillard to an extension unless they’re guaranteeing to build a contending team around him, and they haven’t. What Portland needs to do is deal Lillard; either the Knicks or Lakers make the most sense.
Because if not, then Portland is going to regret not capitalizing on Lillard’s best seasons and lose him at an age where it was too late.
But then again, it’s the Blazers. Their franchise is filled with bad luck and tough losses.
