Time is running out if the Portland Trail Blazers hope to complete a Damian Lillard trade before the start of training camp.
With most NBA teams set to report on Oct. 3, the Blazers have a little more than a month to find a way to consummate a deal, if that indeed is the target date. And with the Blazers’ opening game of the 2023-24 season set for Oct. 25, it gives the team less than two months before a season dedicated to the future becomes a media circus nightmare.
When will the Portland Trail Blazers find a trade for Damian Lillard?
As it’s been from the beginning, it’s the Miami Heat or bust for Dame. Also as it’s been from the beginning, Portland General Manager Joe Cronin and the Blazers’ front office has no desire accept whatever package the Heat has offered to this point.
Miami has reportedly tabled a deal that includes as much as three or four first-round picks, a young player and some second-rounders, but Cronin is holding out for more in a deal that would send his best player to a title contender.
It would appear that, at some point, either the Heat has to offer more if they hope to bring Lillard to South Beach, or the Blazers have to drum up interest in him from somewhere else. In terms of a return that’s best for Portland, option No. 2 would be the way to go.
Especially if it comes in the form of a recently proposed trade that would give Lillard a chance to contend for a title while bringing a potential franchise superstar to Portland.
Portland Trail Blazers trade Damian Lillard to Pelicans for Zion Williamson
If Cronin gets this proposed offer (via FanSided.com) from David Griffin, his counterpart in New Orleans, he should say “Yes,” immediately hang up the phone and dial the league office to confirm it.
While Miami’s best trade chip is 23-year-old guard Tyler Herro, who the Blazers don’t want or need, the Pelicans’ best trade chip is a former No. 1 overall pick that, if healthy, is a pure NBA superstar.
(The “if healthy” part is, admittedly, a major sticking point.)
Lillard, paired with star Brandon Ingram, former backcourt mate CJ McCollum and young, ascending players such as Herb Jones, Jose Alvarado, Dyson Daniels, Kira Lewis Jr. and Jordan Hawkins, would make the Pelicans a legitimate contender in the West.
New Orleans would have a chance to make a run; that’s all Dame has said he wants – a chance.
For the Blazers, the idea of adding a big like Zion to a backcourt trio of Scoot Henderson, Anfernee Simons and Shaedon Sharpe is drool-worthy.
Acquiring Zion Williamson for Damian Lillard would be a major win for Blazers
Zion is a one-of-one in terms of NBA athletes. Or perhaps human athletes in general.
His size (6-foot-6, 280 pounds) combined with his explosive leaping ability and body control is truly amazing to watch. It’s part of what gives him superstar status in the league despite playing only 114 games over four seasons.
Henderson’s already-developed skill set as a pick-and-roll maestro at age 19 is the perfect pairing for a lob threat like Williamson. Those two would get Moda Center rocking and social media buzzing with highlight after highlight.
Scoot isn’t a slouch of an athlete himself – nor is Sharpe – while Simons’ ability to create his own offense or spot up at the three-point line and space the floor for that Henderson-Williamson pick-and-roll only makes this potential Portland offense even more explosive.
Are there defensive concerns? Certainly. But the Blazers aren’t a championship-or-bust team, so there would be time and patience (and an extra first-round pick, in this case) to figure it out.
Portland’s main concern comes in the form of Zion’s health. But if given the choice between these two packages:
- 3 or 4 first-rounders from the Miami Heat plus Nikola Jovic (or a similar deal)
- Zion Williamson
The risk is worth the potential reward.