An enticing trade proposal has a surprise Eastern Conference club landing All-Star guard Damian Lillard from the Portland Trail Blazers.
Lillard requested a trade from Portland earlier this offseason, and it has been widely reported that his desire is to play for the Miami Heat. But the Trail Blazers don’t necessarily have to honor Lillard’s request. If another team comes forward with a can’t-refuse offer, Lillard may end up playing for a club outside of South Beach.
At NBA Analysis Network, James Piercey proposed a massive trade that has Portland instead trading Lillard to the Brooklyn Nets in exchange for Ben Simmons as well as 2025, 2027, 2029 and 2030 first-round draft picks:
“Lillard has been wasting away on the Blazers for a couple of seasons now. He wants to land in a competitive situation. Who could blame him? Luckily, the Nets could offer him exactly that: a competitive situation.
After all, Mikal Bridges broke out as a shot-creator after landing on the Nets last season. Imagine him as a second option behind Lillard. Lillard is exactly the offensive focal point the Nets need. They’d be surrounding him with elite defenders and floor spacers. If he’s open to joining them, Lillard could make the Nets contenders. Could the Blazers send him there?”
Piercey’s proposal would certainly work for Portland. They’d get a two-way stalwart in Simmons and plenty of draft picks to help their rebuild or be used to trade for another All-Star-level player down the road.
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Brooklyn has plenty of draft picks from the Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant and James Harden trades. They finished as the No. 6 seed in the East with a 45-37 record last season, but adding a player like Lillard could help them emerge as a contender in the East.
A seven-time All-Star, Lillard promises to continue being a game-changer wherever he plays in 2023-24. The future Hall of Famer averaged a career-best 32.2 points per game in 58 contests last season.
