Should the Portland Trail Blazers finally trade Damian Lillard?

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PORTLAND, OREGON – APRIL 23: Damian Lillard #0 of the Portland Trail Blazers waves goodbye to the Oklahoma City Thunder after hitting a last second 37 foot game winner to end Game Five of the Western Conference quarterfinals during the 2019 NBA Playoffs at Moda Center on April 23, 2019 in Portland, Oregon. The Blazers won 118-115. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Steve Dykes/Getty Images) /

Should the Portland Trail Blazers finally trade Damian Lillard?: The cons

It’s important to remember that blowing it up and trading Damian Lillard would mean moving on from one of the greatest point guards the game has ever seen. Not only will he go down as one of the greatest three-point shooters of all time, but his ability in the clutch is unrivaled.

Portland will not get back anyone in a trade that can do what Lillard does. Blowing it up would carry a considerable amount of risk given that the team would be getting rid of a multiple-time All-Star who has the ability to win games on his own, and there is absolutely no guarantee that a rebuild would get them any closer to a title than where they are now.

Blazers fans might not see another player of Dame’s quality for a long time. Having a top ten player in the league is something many teams have long hoped for, and Portland having one that wants to stay and win titles with the team should not be underappreciated.

Lillard means a lot to the city of Portland. Trading away someone who has brought the team’s fans so much joy and their best spell since the late 1990s in favor of looking towards a future that has absolutely no guarantee of being any better than right now is a huge risk to take.

For all the analysis and scouting that goes into the draft process, a lot of what happens is unpredictable. Teams dream of landing a player like a Dame or a Steph Curry or Giannis Antetokounmpo.

And despite the defensive deficiencies of the last few years, the offensive numbers have been the complete opposite. Last season, the Blazers had the second-best offense in the NBA with an offensive rating of 117.1 and placed third the year prior to that.

This season has seen Portland rank just tenth, but there is no doubt that this is a seriously good offensive team. And as the saying goes, ‘good offense beats good defense’.

The Lillard and McCollum backcourt is among the most potent offensive duos in the NBA and few teams have the backcourts to go toe-to-toe with them when it comes to scoring. The positive aspects of this roster cannot be forgotten completely.

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