Portland Trail Blazers: 5 teams who could trade for Damian Lillard

Teams that could trade for Damian Lillard: Boston Celtics

The Boston Celtics find themselves under new management, with former head coach Brad Stevens ascending to the front office and Brooklyn Nets assistant Ime Udoka taking over as head coach. Stevens has already started making moves, sending point guard Kemba Walker to the Oklahoma City Thunder for center Al Horford.

That leaves something of a hole at point guard, although Marcus Smart is a reasonable option to slide over there. Instead, Stevens could look to replace Walker in a different and splashier way, trading from the Celtics’ strength on the wing to bring in Damian Lillard.

Trade package: Jaylen Brown, Tristan Thompson, Aaron Nesmith, future first-round pick to Portland; Damian Lillard to Boston

The Boston Celtics would get to pair an elite scorer in Damian Lillard with Jayson Tatum, giving the Celtics a deadly offensive combination. There is no better cover for Lillard on defense than Marcus Smart playing at the 2. The Celtics could re-sign Evan Fournier to play the 3, start Tatum at the 4 and Horford or Robert Williams at the 5. The Celtics would instantly vault up the ranks in the Eastern Conference.

Portland would do this trade if it was confident in building around Jaylen Brown. Wings are the most valuable commodity in the league, and the Blazers haven’t had one as good as Brown since Brandon Roy. He is a two-way contributor who is growing into a star on offense, making his first All-Star appearance this past season. His age (just 24 years old) gives the Blazers the ability to compete now and later. Thompson comes on an expiring to make the contracts work, while Nesmith is a 3-and-D prospect who could grow into a low-end starter alongside Brown.