Could the Lakers trade for Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard? Apparently, even though the Lakers literally have next to nothing to put together a compelling asset package and an equivalent salary that beats other teams without including LeBron James or Anthony Davis, it’s a possibility, at least according to New York’s Mike Berman. Post:
Lillard said during the pandemic, “I thought you were heading [to the Knicks] A few years ago. I was listening to commercial rumors. The garden is my favorite place to play. “
If scoring point guard Lillard calls for a trade, the Knicks or Lakers are believed to be his options.
It is unknown who believes this due to Berman’s lack of attribution, but the wording at least implies that some in the league think this is the case. No one knows how aware these people are of Lillard’s plans, so take this report with a grain of salt, but leaving aside the aforementioned lid complications and the fact that Lillard has not actually asked for a deal. It is not difficult to determine why Some think the Lakers are a team they would like to go to.
I mean, on the one hand, stars generally put the Lakers on their commercial demand list. It’s amazing to play in Los Angeles for the team that likes the city, Southern California is a nice place to live, and the Lakers are the most visible franchise in the NBA. Some players’ shoe offerings even contain incentives to play for as high-powered a team as purple and gold, so they are generally paired to come here when requested.
But there’s also a lot of smoke that has linked Lillard with the Lakers specifically in the past. Basically, from the moment LeBron came on board, there were rumors that Lillard would ask to go to the Lakers if he demanded an exchange, and that the King wanted to play with Lillard.
Lillard also has made no secret of how much he appreciates James’ game, saying he should win the MVP this season and calling him the NBA’s best player. He also didn’t explicitly reject the team in response to a bogus commercial rumor on April Fools’ Day (although he did laugh, which is also not an endorsement of the idea, angry Portland fans):
Still, Lillard will earn $ 31 million in the first year of a five-year contract extension that will begin next season. The Lakers could match the salary with Danny Green, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (if he chooses his deal for next year), and Kyle Kuzma, but they have few picks going forward as a result of the Anthony Davis trade, and it’s hard to imagine that another team can’t beat that source of pu pu.
Lillard is also 29 years old, and while his game projects to age well, it will also be a little older and more expensive by the time he realistically hits the market a few years later. That doesn’t rule it out as valuable, but it’s something that future Lakers would have to consider if this theoretical trade demand were to be met.
For now, this it is Another instance of smoke potentially indicating fire, but this is more a wisp in the distance that could come from a chimney than from a full-blown hell, like Davis’ business lawsuit last year. It’s worth keeping an eye on Lillard and continuing to photoshop on the Lakers’ jerseys, but for now, the team is more likely to make their proclamation that the Blazers could beat the Lakers in the playoffs seem silly than completing an exchange. for him.
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