NBA Rumors: Damian Lillard, Blazers to Meet 'Early This Week'; Draymond Green Linked

Damian Lillard and the Portland Trail Blazers may have finally reached their fork-in-the-road moment.

Rather than make an all-in push for a veteran at the behest of Lillard, the Blazers used the No. 3 pick in last week's NBA draft on Scoot Henderson, who projects as Lillard's potential long-term replacement.

Sam Amick of The Athletic reported Lillard is expected to meet with Blazers general manager Joe Cronin and other team officials early this week.

B/R's Chris Haynes later reported Lillard will meet with Blazers brass on Monday:

Lillard is reportedly hopeful the team will seek to re-sign forward Jerami Grant and make an all-in push to add Draymond Green in free agency. The likelihood of Green leaving Golden State remains low, and the Blazers do not have the cap space to blow him away with a massive contract offer.

As it stands, the meeting with Lillard is expected to determine how all parties decide to move forward. Amick added that "Lillard likely won't make a final decision on how to play this until the early stages of the free agency period have passed."

From an outside perspective, an amicable split has long seemed like the most logical choice for both parties.

Henderson is now the third guard on the roster who is 24 years old or younger, joining Afernee Simons and Shaedon Sharpe. Portland's used lottery picks on guards in consecutive years.

Those are not exactly the actions of a front office that's prioritizing Lillard's desire to compete now. Moreover, Lillard's continued presence stands to hinder the development of the young guards — and in particular Henderson, who has the potential to be a perennial All-Star at the point guard spot.

There are no shortage of teams that would line up offering young players and future draft picks for Lillard, who remains one of the NBA's most dynamic guards despite two straight injury-riddled campaigns. Moving Lillard would help kickstart a rebuild that's seemed necessary for the last two years.

Instead, it appears both sides are playing what amounts to a game of chicken, with neither party wanting to the one to initiate the divorce.

This week's meeting could be the first step in getting the ball rolling. That said, it'll be hard to write the final chapter on Lillard in Portland until a trade is finalized.