NBA Trade Deadline 2016: 10 players who are off limits
By John Buhler
When the Portland Trail Blazers organization realized that All-Star power forward LaMarcus Aldridge was not going to re-sign with the Blazers in free agency last summer, general manager Neil Olshey wisely decided to cut ties with his veteran group to rebuild a new, young up-and-coming team around point guard Damian Lillard.
Lillard’s Trail Blazers have wildly exceed low expectations in the first half of the 2015-16 NBA season, as Portland sits at .500 with a 27-27 record at the time of the NBA All-Star Game. While Portland isn’t going to probably win 50 games again in 2016, making the NBA Playoffs isn’t all that bad given the amount of turnover on their roster. Portland is in seventh place in the West at the break.
While Lillard still has a ton to prove on the defensive end of the floor, he’s as gifted of an offensive playmaker at point guard that Olshey can feel confident he can build another championship caliber team around his star player at the one.
Lillard gives the Blazers and basketball fans in the Pacific Northwest a player to rally behind. Sending Lillard elsewhere in a trade deadline deal would devastate Rip City and have the Blazers in all-out rebuilding mode. Teams tank seasons in the hopes of getting player that could one day hope to become Lillard. As the face of the Trail Blazers, Lillard isn’t going anywhere until he’s 30. Lillard won’t turn 26 until July.
Next: 7. Jimmy Butler