NBA Rumors: Damian Lillard Trade Not Being Eyed by Blazers or PG Before Draft

ESPN's Brian Windhorst has bad news for fans and teams dreaming about Damian Lillard looking for an opportunity to leave the Portland Trail Blazers this summer.

Appearing on ESPN's Get Up, Windhorst said indications out of Portland are that Lillard and the Blazers "are still all-in together" leading up to the 2023 NBA draft and the start of free agency:

"The indications I have out of Portland are that they are still all-in together. The moves that the Blazers are looking to make involve building around Dame Lillard. He obviously did put them on the edge a little bit with what he said at the conclusion of the season, which is that he didn't look for anymore developmental players. He wanted players that could help him right now, and that really got fascinating when they jumped up in the lottery to the No. 3 pick, which is why a lot of people think the No. 3 pick could be in play by next Thursday. But I have no indications that the Blazers are doing anything with Dame, or that Dame is pushing in that direction.

The conversations that they've had are to retain Jerami Grant, probably on a huge contract, which would be to support Dame Lillard, and to go out into the marketplace to look to add players that fit around him. Guards that are bigger than him that can help him defensively, and big men who can help them defensively, because that's been an issue for them over the last few seasons."

This has been the prevailing theory since the Blazers' season ended on April 9, but Lillard recently stoked the flames by engaging in hypothetical landing spots if he were to get traded.

In the same podcast interview, Lillard said he expects to be in Portland when the 2023-24 season begins.

The Blazers have made it clear they intend to keep building around Lillard. General manager Joe Cronin told Yahoo Sports' Jake Fischer after the draft lottery they are "a team that's trying to win and trying to maximize Damian's timeline."

Per The Ringer's Kevin O'Connor, the Blazers are "exploring deals" involving the No. 3 pick in the 2023 and are "open to moving Anfernee Simons."

If Portland ends up keeping its top pick, then conversations about a Lillard trade could pick back up. The seven-time All-Star told reporters at the end of the season he's "just not interested" in waiting around for a young prospect who might take multiple years to develop into an impact NBA player.

The Blazers need to make an impact trade if they are hoping for a quick turnaround. They have missed the playoffs in each of the past two seasons and have a record of 60-104 during that span.

Even accounting for some late-season roster shenanigans when they were trying to improve their lottery odds, the Blazers haven't been a playoff threat since advancing to the Western Conference Finals during the 2018-19 season. They did make the postseason in each of the next two years, but lost in the first round both times.

Lillard, who turns 33 on July 15, is still a superstar 11 years into his NBA career. He averaged a career-high 32.2 points per game in 58 starts last season.