Is Damian Lillard trying to line himself up as Kawhi Leonard fallback?
As the Lakers widen their options beyond Kawhi Leonard, does Damian Lillard want to team up with LeBron James?
With the signing of LeBron James, the acquisition of another star seems inevitable for the Los Angeles Lakers. Maybe this offseason, maybe next, but it’s going to happen. But things may turn away from Leonard, due to the Spurs asking price, and Chris Sheridan has reported the Lakers may look to acquire someone from a list of other stars, including Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard.
Lillard has gone into the topic of playing with James in the past, amid his questioning of Kyrie Irving’s desire to be traded from the Cavaliers last offseason. So with that as the root, along with a meeting with Trail Blazers owner Paul Allen in the middle of last season to discuss the team’s direction and a reported request for a follow-up meeting after the season, Lillard could put talk of playing somewhere other than Portland to permanent rest.
But in response to a question from a fan on Twitter, that’s not what he did.
I’m typically a happy camper https://t.co/LvFoTwlEFW
— Damian Lillard (@Dame_Lillard) July 4, 2018
Not responding at all might have been the best thing to do, or conveying a long-term commitment to Portland would also have sufficed. It’s easy to read too much into a Twitter comment, but Lillard has invited speculation he’d be a “happy camper” if the Trail Blazers traded him.
If the Lakers aren’t willing to part with some combination of Brandon Ingram, Kyle Kuzma, Josh Hart, Lonzo Ball? and multiple draft picks for Leonard, they aren’t going to do it for Lillard either. Lillard’s situation is also far different, as he has three years and over $89 million left on his contract with no opt-outs. Unless Portland wants to take Luol Deng’s bad contract from the Lakers, making the money line up would be impossible.
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The mix of players in Portland is not working, in terms of deep playoff runs. But Lillard’s backcourt mate C.J. McCollum is a far more likely candidate to be traded.