The NBA trade rumors will continue to hold the Portland Trail Blazers but involving Damian Lillard may be extreme.
The rumors about Damian Lillard were boosted when Bill Simmons of The Ringer mentioned him in his column. Simmons proposed a trade to the Minnesota Timberwolves to add bigger, defensive guards like Kris Dunn and Zach Lavine.
Prior to Simmons' article, Hoops Habit already explored this possibility. They do note that the common trade target mentioned was CJ McCollum. Lately, McCollum has improved and shown that he can also carry the team's scoring load (he scored 43 points one time) and also be a leader to the team.
The two best players of the team have basically the same position, both are undersized and struggling on defense, almost to the point that they are liabilities that the team needs to cover. While the relationship between the two is seamless (no feuds here), the team could improve if one of them is traded for the right pieces.
Therein lies the point of Hoops Habit writer Justin Rowan. The idea is that McCollum should be the one to go since Lillard is the franchise player. However, the Lillard can bring back more to the team.
"First of all, the trade value of Lillard would be likely be much higher. As a household name, an All-Star talent that is locked up through to the 2020-21 season, Lillard would yield a massive return."
Rowan noted that the Sacramento Kings would be a good trade partner for the Trail Blazers. While the easy assumption is that they get DeMarcus Cousins, the Kings' franchise player as a return, the Kings are adamant to keep him.
Thus, Willie Cauley-Stein could be the target. He is probably the only asset worth trading for aside from Cousins. The Kings should also add more pieces. And they don't have too much aside from that, not even draft picks.
In the meantime, Lillard has affirmed his loyalty to Portland in an interview with Hoops Hype. When asked on whether he can see himself playing his entire career in Portland, he responded:
"Definitely. I like living in Portland and I like the organization. It's a great organization and they take care of us in every way possible. I'm happy with the situation that I'm in, and my family is happy with the situation and where we're living. It's a place where I'd want to play my entire career. Obviously, with this being a business, people's feelings change about players. And players' feelings change about organizations; I don't think mine will, though, because I really like where I am and where I live and stuff like that. But you just never know," Lillard said.
Lillard doesn't have a no-trade clause, but the Blazers will get a backlash if they lose another certified star again no matter the return.