Portland Trail Blazers: Damian Lillard to NYK would be key to rebuild

Portland Trail Blazers
Damian Lillard, Portland Trail Blazers (Photo by Frenchieinportland, via Wikimedia) (1)

If the Portland Trail Blazers decide to break up the band and rebuild, it starts with Damian Lillard. Here is an interesting proposal to move Dame to New York.

The offseason has unceremoniously arrived for the Portland Trail Blazers and New York Knicks. With a Knicks team that overachieved and a Blazers squad that by many standards has been underachieving, changes are rumored on both teams.

Set-up

Portland already “mutually agreed” to part ways with their coach, Terry Stotts. That might be the start of an organizational shake-up. Meanwhile, New York jump-started their rebuild but found out the hard way that they didn’t have enough talent to push the playoff envelope. These two teams can help each other with their current trajectories.

There is more to the match. Portland hasn’t shown the ability to bring in more help for Damian Lillard. NYK, until this year, hasn’t been able to attract anyone whose career is already on the right track. New York’s stars Julius Randle, a castaway who improved drastically, and Derrick Rose, a Tom Thibodeau loyalist, are good players (in Rose’s case, nowhere near the star he once was). The rest of the Knicks are homegrown draft picks.

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. The Portland Trail Blazers need an infusion of young talent. Added cap space and a reboot to go along with it.

New York needs a superstar, and “Dame Time” in New York seems like an instant marketing hit. If the Knicks want Lillard, they have to make a solid offer, but with the new management team, they will not give away a Melo-style ransom to get him. They’ve done that before, and it blew up badly on them. It’s unlikely MSG Boss James Dolan would sign off again on a similar deal. Then again, the fan base has already lost patience with him and his antics. This could be the deal to placate angry fans.

 

Next: Page 2 – The deal

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