Damian Lillard Situation: ‘Not Much Has Changed,’ Says Woj
The Portland Trail Blazers may be looking at their All-Star point guard Damian Lillard leaving the franchise this summer, as he’s been open to joining a contending team.
This week ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski spoke on the semi-turbulent Lillard situation.
I’m not really sure anything has changed about his future in Portland. For all the speculation, Damian Lillard is where he’s been for at least the last couple of years with a young roster, Scoot Henderson and a very, very good draft class by the Blazers last week, And the opportunity now for them to re-sign Jerami Grant, to look out in the trade market and see are there veterans they can bring in, whether it’s with one of their exceptions, with a trade and see whether they can continue to build around Damian Lillard, who has said numerous times that he wants to be there.
As it stands, the Blazers are still set on retaining two of their best players — Lillard and Jerami Grant — as they look to re-enter the playoff hunt and build a contender.
With standout guard Scoot Henderson joining the roster after being selected third overall in this year’s draft, Portland now has an abundance of riches in the back court with an elevated offensive attack.
Should Lillard depart, notable names to hit the block in the coming year could include Boston Celtics star wing Jaylen Brown and Toronto Raptors star forward Pascal Siakam.
Siakam is owed $37.8 million next season in the final year of his expiring contract. Brown is owed $31.8 million in 2023-24 but is expected to sign a max-level extension with Boston that would disallow trades until next summer.
Lillard is signed until 2026-27. He will earn $45.64 million next season, elevating all the way to $63.2 million in the final year of his deal.
Source: Blazer's Edge
