5 Reasons a Damian Lillard trade must happen before training camp

The risk of injury for Damian Lillard is too great

If the Portland Trail Blazers’ master plan in trying to get a better trade offer for Damian Lillard involves carrying him on the roster heading into training camp, that’s fine as long as they know the risks that come with that possibility. In Portland were to go down that path, the Blazers almost have to have him sit out from participating in camp due to the huge risk of injury that could arise.

I wouldn’t call Lillard an injury-prone player, but he’s battled his fair share of injuries over the course of his career. Suffering any kind of injury, especially a serious one, could completely bomb his trade value and any leverage the Blazers have at the moment.

At the very least, the Blazers would have to be careful with how they manage Lillard in training camp. And even more so when the season starts. The big question that the Blazers must ask themselves is whether or not they’re ready to make that level of a gamble for a small chance that the offers for Lillard get better.

In a vacuum, that doesn’t seem like a great trade-off for a team looking to make the pivot toward a rebuild.