5 Reasons a Damian Lillard trade must happen before training camp

Damian Lillard’s trade value is only decreasing

If we’re being quite honest, Damian Lillard’s trade value is only decreasing with every passing day. Even though Lillard is coming off a fantastic season with the Blazers, he’s 33 years old and isn’t getting any younger. From a macro perspective, I don’t envision a scenario where Lillard’s trade value at any point this season is better than it is right now.

You can make an argument that perhaps if a contender loses a key player due to an injury then maybe they’d be more inclined to jump into the Lillard race. However, that’s almost like a pipe dream scenario at this point.

The one thing the Blazers don’t have when it comes to Lillard’s trade value is time. He’s still in the prime of his career but maybe has 1-2 years of elite play left in him? I have a hard time believing that a 35-year-old Lillard is going to be an All-NBA player. That simply doesn’t happen in the NBA for non-LeBron players.

Lillard’s value is high right now, so it makes sense for the Blazers to be asking for the moon. However, at some point, if the moon isn’t available, maybe you take a couple of stars? Lillard’s value will not get any better than it is right now. There’s no sense in hoping it does by carrying him onto the roster without certainty of the offers getting better.