It’s no secret that Chauncey Billups’ Portland Trail Blazers have been one of the most talked-about NBA teams this offseason—and not always for good reasons. After 11 years, seven All-Star nods, seven All-NBA selections, eight playoff appearances, and a genuine will to stay in Portland to create a true contender, Damian Lillard finally asked for a trade earlier this summer.
The 33-year-old gave his prime years to the Trail Blazers, and they responded with bone-headed move after bone-headed move. In all of his years in Portland, Lillard won only four playoff series, reaching the Conference Finals just once in 2019.
However, Lillard’s trade request (which specified his wish to be moved to the Miami Heat) has not greased the wheels on any deal to move the point guard. Portland general manager Joe Cronin even said at a press conference that a Lillard trade would take “months” of ground work to complete.
Wherever Lillard ends up, there is one question the Trail Blazers have to answer as a franchise: the Damian Lillard era is about to come to a close, so how do we move forward from here? Some people might say: new era, new regime, new coach. Well, those people would be wrong.
Rather than labelling Billups a scapegoat and kicking the former NBA Finals MVP to the curb as Portland moves into what could be a hard or soft rebuild (depending on how they manage the Lillard situation), the franchise should instead look at Billups as the perfect captain to steer this Blazers ship on a path to the promised land.