This offseason Damian Lillard has been very vocal about his expectations for the Trail Blazers. The 32-year-old superstar made it clear that he wants the team to contend for a championship.
A recent report suggested that Portland is committed to improve the roster in order to meet Lillard’s demands. One of the chips that the Blazers could use to bring a high profile player is this year’s third overall pick.
For his part, Dame is reportedly actively recruiting free agents to join him in Portland. At the same time, he has openly named his preferred trade destinations.
All of the above is Lillard trying to put pressure on the team to trade the 3rd overall pick in order to get a star, says Sam Amick. According to him, it is more likely now that the Blazers star will request a trade this offseason, especially if the team fails to improve the roster.
“I’m gonna lean towards yes because I feel like… how deliberate star players are with their voice,” Amick said on Five On The Floor podcast, via HoopsHype. “And what I’m seeing from Dame right now, and the type of commentary and analysis coming either from him or reporters who are close to him, the tone of the discussion feels like two things: A) something you choose to do to apply pressure and make sure your front office trades the No. 3 pick for a very good player to make him stay, and B) to send the message that if you don’t [trade that pick], we’re gonna have to figure something out here.
“I’m currently not seeing or hearing of that type of trade. So it does feel like if they don’t move the pick for something that really moves the program forward now, then we’re gonna be talking about Dame a lot this summer.”
