Damian Lillard has long been commended for his loyalty to the Trail Blazers, but Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports questions where that loyalty has gotten Lillard during what has been his most frustrating season. The veteran guard, who has repeatedly stated his desire to win a title in Portland, hasn’t played with an All-Star since 2015 and the team doesn’t appear to be moving any closer to contention — the Blazers’ recent 4-9 slide has them in play-in territory at No. 7 in the Western Conference.
Acquisitions like Robert Covington and Norman Powell looked like steps in the right direction, but Haynes advocates for the Trail Blazers’ front office to take a more aggressive, riskier approach, seeking a deal that would pair Lillard with a legitimate second star.
While Haynes’ piece for Yahoo Sports is an opinion column, it’s worth noting that the veteran reporter is on good terms with Lillard, having frequently interviewed him and reported on him. That doesn’t necessarily mean Lillard shares the views Haynes puts forth in the piece, but the Trail Blazers star will turn 31 this summer and will want to make the most of his remaining prime years.
Whether or not they’re getting a push from Lillard, it’s fair to say the pressure is increasing on the Blazers’ front office. That pressure applies to the coaching staff too. Echoing another recent report, Haynes suggests within his column that head coach Terry Stotts is very much on the hot seat.
Here’s more from around the Northwest:
- Former Timberwolves forward Andrew Wiggins, who played in Minnesota on Thursday as a Warrior, said he has “nothing but love” for his old team and for his time in the city, writes Chris Hine of The Star Tribune. “Living here was great,” Wiggins said. “I got to meet a lot of people in the community. I made a lot of friends and people that I’ll talk to and be cool with the rest of my life. Just playing here with the organization it was cool. Helped me grow into the man I am today.”
- Charlie Brown Jr. is looking to make the most of his 10-day audition with the Thunder, a team he worked out for prior to the 2019 draft, as Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman details. Meanwhile, in a separate story, Mussatto writes about Gabriel Deck‘s “welcome to the NBA” moment during his debut on Thursday — the Argentinian forward was matched up with Zion Williamson during his first few minutes in the NBA.
- In his latest mailbag for The Denver Post, Mike Singer explores Michael Porter Jr.‘s contract situation, JaVale McGee‘s role, and whether any more roster moves are coming for the Nuggets. Singer expects the current 17-man group to be the one Denver takes into the postseason.
Nets can use Lillard.
They could have had him if they didn’t trade that pick for Gerald Wallace
Wiggins is always a dude
Lillard will never win a championship with Portland, and that has been obvious to pretty much everyone other than Lillard for many years.
Bucks trade for Lillard. :)
Wiggins and Towns make the same money…
“… IT IS fair to ask if he’s been fighting the good fight alone.”
should have been
“… IS IT fair to ask if he’s been fighting the good fight alone?”
No. CJMccollum has been there all along.
McCollum cannot make an AS team and Lilliard too, so it’s unfair to say it’s been 2015 since he has played with an AS. Everyone has wanted a trade for more balance for years. They’re almost the same guy, and you cannot go all the way starting two bad defenders at guard. And Mccollum would flourish as a #1 option elsewhere.
If the writer is a Dame mouthpiece, then maybe this is Dame saying CJM should go for next year. Also that he doesn’t think they will win this year.
Lilliard probably had his best year last year, per 27. CJM has steady years but his highest PER is 21 this year; he is a year younger; and is playing more PG than ever per Bas.Ref.
On HC Stotts: “Accountability, ingenuity, doing away with granting everyone offensive freedom and a fresh voice roaming the sidelines might be in order, but the team’s struggles extend beyond X’s and O’s.”
They do play like everyone has offensive freedom. Maybe that’s why CJM does not (publicly) want out.
Why couldn’t McCollum and Lillard make both the All Star team? This year Brown and Tatum were both All Stars and Boston was under 0.500 at the time. And there are also many examples of backcourt teammates in the same All Star game (Conley and Mitchell, Curry and Klay, Teague and Korver…)
I am not sure McCollum has been that close even. He predicted his situation himself, several years ago, shortly after starting as a duo, but well before signing the new contract.
I remember and probably you do too last year, when Boston writers said it would one or the other of their duo.
I have not read of any similar controversy being made, out of Portland.
Now that Conley got it (as a sub), maybe sentiment will build for CJM.
Blazers’ window to trade CJM and reconfigure the roster around Lillard won’t extend much beyond this summer. I’m surprised that there has been no energy within the organization to explore it, or so it appears. As long as Lillard and CJM are at the top of the roster and payroll, there isn’t much of a path to categorical improvement.
Maybe they don’t care, since they’re generally good to very good. I don’t think they’re alone in the league right now with that kind of thinking. Teams today don’t seem afraid to trade their star players to try to improve their team; they only seem to do so when they’re compelled by circumstances or in a rebuild mode, and thus their value has declined. I can see that happening here. CJM, on his max contract, is NOT an unqualified asset, where they can sit back and demand a certain return. I think there’s a market for him, in which trade value resides, but it has to be worked. I wouldn’t let him and Lillard get any older before addressing the situation.
Since my Warriors have no chance to win it all this year the 2 teams I will be cheering for in the playoffs are the Blazers and Nuggets. there is not 1 team in the west that you could claim as the better than anyone else. Pretty much any team can win it all if they can match up well against their opponent.
“Charlie Brown is looking to make the most of his 10-day audition with the Thunder”. He vows NOT to try to KICK any FIELD GOALS !!