Damian Lillard, Portland Trail Blazers (Photo by Frenchieinportland, via Wikimedia) (1)
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.
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.
A new York Knicks offer for Dame should look something like this.
Knicks receive the player they want in Dame and swap second-round picks this year so they still can gather young, inexpensive pieces in the future.
New York gives up many of their future picks but still maintains the ability to make moves inside the 2023 draft which is currently being treated like gold by league general managers, so every pick, both first and second-round, is treated like pieces of gold.
Blazers receive a trove of picks to jump-start their organizational rebuild. They also land three former first-round picks in players. They would be able to make three selections in this year’s draft class.
Kevin Knox can still be a solid starter on many rosters, and Frank Ntilikina gives the Blazers a bonafide defensive specialist to bring off the bench. Alec Burks is the cherry piece most people won’t appreciate; he somewhat offsets the Blazers’ loss of three-point shooting with Lillard’s departure.
Now Blazers fans, before you go flying off the handle about wanting Mitchell Robinson, understand the Knicks were recently bullied by the Hawks bigs and will be hard-pressed to send their young center in a trade anywhere. They’ll also be looking to upgrade the position this offseason, especially with Robinson’s injury history.
Such a drastic proposal deserves some peer review. We asked some of our other contributors what they thought about this trade proposal.
Rob Ryan
I wouldn’t be ok with this trade. The only reason I think that Portland would move Lillard is if they thought they could have CJ start at point guard. In a Lillard trade, Portland has to get a big bounty of assets and at least one all-star caliber player in return.
What Portland gets back doesn’t move the needle and simply waves the white flag for a complete rebuild. As I’ve mentioned in previous articles, I think CJ is playing out of position. If he were to play full-time PG with the starters, including another All-Star player to replace Lillard, this team might be able to better re-tool and compete.
Teresa Powe
No, for the Knicks. New York Knicks management won’t do what the Blazers did and give up their future. They’re building. Yes, Julius Randle needs help, and they need a point guard. From everything I’ve seen, that will be someone young. Think of Thibs and his system. They must fit in his system.
Ed Stein
I kind of like the trade, but the Trail Blazers should get more in return. First, NYK can keep Knox and Ntilikina; neither of them is a consistent contributor. Despite what Justin said earlier, Mitchell Robinson would have to come to Rip City as would RJ Barrett. Also, the Knicks 2023 second-round pick gets upgraded to a first if New York makes the Eastern Conference Finals in 2022 or 2023.
Chip Clark
Interesting idea. New York needs Dame more than Portland needs to trade him. This is a decent haul, but I agree that Robinson has to part of the trade. The kid is a beast. A third team makes this work better without either New York or Portland making big changes to the proposed deal.
Nobody in Rip City is anxious to see Lillard leave. Let’s face it Dame worth more than anyone Portland had on their roster in decades. Moving him alone is enough to start a rebuild. Besides, his trade value may never be as high as it is now.
McCollum and Norman Powell can move back to their natural point and shooting guard positions. At the same time, the team can start transitioning to Anfernee Simons as their backcourt leader. If Simons takes to his role quickly, one of the two returning veteran guards could move for another number one at the trade deadline.
Robert Covington could also bring back a nice package. So would Jusuf Nurkic. It all has to start with Dame, though. Portland can’t remake their team with him on the roster.
When all is said and done, Damian Lilliard is the face of the Portland Trail Blazers. Early exits from the playoffs mean that either the frustration is mounting for all parties, or the organization failed to get Lilliard the pieces and coach he needed. The time is drawing near to make moves.
The Knicks have the treasure chest to entice the Blazers and Dame. Now it’s up to all parties to make it work.
What do you think about the Portland Trail Blazers trading Damian Lillard to New York? Let us know in the comments section below or on social media.