Damian Lillard Believes He'll Be with Blazers to Start 2023 Season amid Trade Rumors

Damian Lillard's name has popped up in potential trade rumors for years, but he anticipates starting the 2023-24 season with the Portland Trail Blazers.

The seven-time All-Star told Brian Custer on The Last Stand (starts at 50:15 mark) "I do" when asked if he thinks he will be in Portland when next season begins.

It would be a surprise at this point if Lillard did get traded during the offseason. All indications have been that Portland's front office is going to take another shot at putting together a winning team around the superstar point guard.

In the aftermath of the NBA draft lottery, The Athletic's John Hollinger reported there is "widespread" speculation around the league the Blazers will look to package the No. 3 pick and Anfernee Simons in an attempt to acquire an elite small forward.

Lillard told reporters in April he doesn't "have much of an appetite for bringing in guys two and three years away from really going after it," and if the team wanted to go in that direction "that's not my route."

It certainly feels like this is the last best shot Portland has to build a successful roster around Lillard. The lottery worked in the team's favor by jumping it up two spots from its starting position at No. 5 overall.

Simons should be attractive in trade talks as a 23-year-old who averaged 21.1 points per game this season and is a 38.7 percent three-point shooter in his career. He's signed for the next three years with a total salary of $77.7 million.

Lillard, who will turn 33 on July 15, is still an elite player but likely nearing the end of his prime, and he's only made it past the second round of the playoffs once in his career. He averaged a career-high 32.2 points per game in 58 starts this season.

The Blazers have won a total of seven games after the All-Star break over the past two seasons combined. They are 60-104 overall during that span and have missed the playoffs in back-to-back years for the first time since 2011-12 and 2012-13.