Portland Trail Blazers’ star Damian Lillard responded to trade rumors Monday morning with a succinct comment to reporters and spectators.
https://twitter.com/Dame_Lillard/status/1467887169779875841
Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium reported earlier in the day that “Lillard had grown frustrated with the team’s play,” per Tommy Beer of Forbes.
https://twitter.com/TommyBeer/status/1467858766779633668
Philadelphia 76ers’ disgruntled star Ben Simmons then added fuel to the fire by liking an Instagram post suggesting he’d like to play with Lillard, per Hoop Central.
https://twitter.com/TheHoopCentral/status/1467938733978624004
A trade between the 76ers and Trail Blazers certainly makes sense; both teams have yet to play to expectations and are in serious need of a roster shake-up.
Any trade between the 76ers and ‘Blazers would likely center around a Simmons for C.J. McCollum swap.
Of course, the ‘Blazers would almost certainly have to part with more assets – but that may not be an issue for a franchise at a serious crossroads, especially considering Simmons has three years remaining on his contract and is just 25 years old.