A massive trade proposal has the Portland Trail Blazers dealing their franchise star to a Northwest Division rival.
Trail Blazers’ legend and All-Star guard Damian Lillard requested a trade from the organization earlier this summer. But so far, Portland hasn’t been offered a deal for their liking for the future Hall of Famer.
It has been widely reported that Lillard’s desire is to play for the defending Eastern Conference champion Miami Heat. But what if one of Portland’s division rivals stepped up and outbid Miami for the perennial All-Star?
Bleacher Report’s Zach Buckley proposed a massive trade idea that has Portland dealing Lillard to the Utah Jazz in exchange for Collin Sexton, Talen Horton-Tucker, Keyonte George, Kelly Olynyk plus 2025 and 2027 first-round picks (the latter being a top-four protected selection):
“Bringing him back to the Beehive State—he played his college ball at Weber State—could be transformational. He might have a supporting cast as strong as any Portland ever put around him, and the Jazz would have the superstar who lets everyone trickle down into a better fitting role. Markkanen and Jordan Clarkson would be nightmare covers as second and third options, respectively…
As constructed here, Portland would nab a potential building block in George, add a fascinating project in Horton-Tucker and gain a really productive 24-year-old in Sexton. Olynyk is on an expiring salary, so he’d at least offer financial relief if not fetch some interest between now and the trade deadline.”
After years of playoff shortcomings, Utah began a rebuild last year by dealing franchise stars Rudy Gobert (to the Minnesota Timberwolves) and Donovan Mitchell (to the Cleveland Cavaliers). With a wealth of draft picks and assets, Utah could definitely outbid other teams for a player of Lillard’s caliber.
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Portland would probably rather deal Lillard outside of the Northwest Division. But if Utah theoretically offered a package like the one Buckley outlined, it’d be hard for the Trail Blazers to come across a better trade proposal.
In 58 games last season, the 33-year-old Lillard averaged 32.2 points, 4.8 rebounds and 7.3 assists per game while shooting 46.3 percent from the field.
