Portland Trail Blazers point guard Damian Lillard has been linked to the Brooklyn Nets in recent trade rumors.
According to Michael Sotto, reporter and writer at HoopsHype, numerous NBA executives believe in a trade centered around Lillard and the Brooklyn Nets.
These rumors come as no surprise to many. Lillard has spent the entirety of his 11-year career on the Trail Blazers, often stating he will “never run from the grind.” However, with the Trail Blazer’s recent season woes, finishing as the fifth-worst team in the NBA, if Lillard were to be traded, this would be the off-season to do it.
For the Brooklyn Nets, they were clearly transitioning to a new era of basketball, as they traded away their all-star duo of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. However, with what forward Mikal Bridges has shown in his short time in Brooklyn, they might be looking for something other than a rebuild of the team.
Bridges was sent over to the Nets in the trade that saw Durant dealt to Phoenix. During his time on the Nets, Bridges has averaged 26.1 points per game on 53.1% shooting. This a jump up from what he was averaging on the Suns this season, where he averaged 17.2 points per game on 50.3% shooting.
In addition to acquiring Bridges, the Nets also received a plethora of first-round picks. Between the Durant and Irving trades, they acquired seven first-round picks. Giving them more than enough assets to trade for another star to pair with Bridges.
So, what might a potential trade for Lillard look like?
Brooklyn Nets receive- Damian Lillard.
Portland Trail Blazers receive- Ben Simmons, 2025 first-round pick (via Suns), 2026 first-round pick (via Suns), 2029 first-round pick (via Suns), 2029 first-round pick.
These are precisely the assets the Nets would need to send over to acquire Lillard.
It’s clear the Nets will need more talent on this current team if they seek to make noise in the playoffs, especially if they want to continue to build a group centered around Bridges. This week, they were swept by the Philadelphia 76ers in the first round of the playoffs.
However, if the Nets were to acquire Lillard via trade, the team would benefit and could no doubt see themselves in the playoffs next season. Lillard has shown his skills as a playoff leader in the past and would be the perfect player to plug into the roster for the Nets.
Interestingly, this isn’t the first time Lillard has been linked with Bridges. In a 2021 Yahoo sports interview, Lillard stated, “...Mikal Bridges is my favorite small forward in the league.”
For the Trail Blazers, if they do end up trading away Lillard, expect the team to trade away more players this off-season. Forward Jerami Grant and center Jusuf Nurkic will likely be the players traded following Lillard.
In addition, this would mark the start of a rebuild for the Trail Blazers. Between the young players they already have on the team and all of the picks they would acquire between all of the trades they make this off-season, it would mark an excellent start to a rebuild.
For Brooklyn, this trade could usher in an era of success for the team, something they haven’t seen since the early 2000s when the team was still in New Jersey.
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