NBA: Playing smoke or fire with NBA superstar trade rumors

Playing smoke or fire: Damian Lillard

The Portland Trail Blazers have not had a good few weeks. They lost in six games to a Denver Nuggets team missing two starters, including Jamal Murray. The general manager Neil Olshey fired the coach, Terry Stotts, and then spent an entire press conference explaining how his roster was perfect and Stotts was to blame.

Then came the replacement for Stotts, and things got worse. The Trail Blazers hired Chauncey Billups, a former All-Star and a reasonable hire given the available candidates. Then a sexual assault allegation from Billups’ past was brought into the light, which Olshey and the Blazers’ PR team tried to sweep under the rug at Billups’ introductory press conference.

All of this lead to a Chris Haynes story, likely sourced by Damian Lillard himself, that stated the situation — PR blunder, fan backlash, and overall team quality — could drive Lillard out the door. This was quite the revelation for a player who has been the epitome of team loyalty, the guy held up as the example of a star who sticks with it.

A major problem for Portland, if it did need to trade Lillard, is that it is hard to find a team that would be an acceptable landing spot for Lillard (it would be another bad look to trade him to a rebuilding team) that can send back enough value for a top-10 player under a long-term contract.

They likely won’t need to, at least not yet. Prior to the allegations against Billups being brought back up, Lillard was a supporter of Billups and the hire. They will likely connect and build a positive relationship, things will quiet down, and Lillard and the team will get back to work.

Verdict: Smoke