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Please (please) stop with Kyrie Irving and Damian Lillard trade ideas

By Isaiah De los Santos

CLEVELAND, OH - JANUARY 28: Damian Lillard
CLEVELAND, OH - JANUARY 28: Damian Lillard /
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HOUSTON, TX – FEBRUARY 15: Kyrie Irving #2 and Damian Lillard #0 of Team Shaq poses for portraits prior to the 2013 BBVA Rising Stars Challenge at Toyota Center on February 15, 2013 in Houston, Texas. Copyright 2013 NBAE (Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images)
HOUSTON, TX – FEBRUARY 15: Kyrie Irving #2 and Damian Lillard #0 of Team Shaq poses for portraits prior to the 2013 BBVA Rising Stars Challenge at Toyota Center on February 15, 2013 in Houston, Texas. Copyright 2013 NBAE (Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images) /

Fake trades are a waste of time, and don’t make sense

Bill Simmons likes to call himself Picasso of the ESPN Trade Machine. Yes, he makes deals that are interesting, and they would work if the teams go through with them.

But, often they’re pipedreams that will never, ever happen. Like the piece he wrote about DeMarcus Cousins becoming a Boston Celtic last season.

Now, The Ringer’s founder proposed a Lillard-Kyrie swap:

Um…what?

For the flight risk, for his game being masked by playing with LeBron, for his inability to be happy competing for championships, Portland should never (ever) make this deal.

Yet, others are proposing this.

Bleacher Report took a stab at it days ago, suggesting Damian Lillard and Al-Farouq Aminu to Cleveland for Kyrie and Shumpert.

Why the Blazers would send arguably their best defender along with their franchise cornerstone is questionable.

Why the Blazers would try to replace arguably their best defender with Iman Shumpert is also very, very questionable.

The reasoning behind this is for the “future,” apparently:

"Irving is the more skilled of the two, and his age (25) falls more in line with the core of Portland’s roster. By the time this team is ready to challenge for a top spot in the West, Lillard could be in his 30s."

Swapping Lillard for a younger star guard is a risky move, but moving Lillard for a star guard who could bolt in two seasons — or even one season in Portland — is a disastrous move.

Next: Caleb Swanigan reminds of a former Blazer

So, can we please stop these Dame and Kyrie comparisons? Can we stop these Dame and Kyrie fake trade scenarios?

The deals make little-to-no-sense for the Blazers to make. They are all in on Dame (and his backcourt partner, C.J. McCollum), and the city of Portland is all in on Dame.

The risk of fans turning their backs on the franchise by dealing Dame is very, very real.