Damian Lillard Trade Rumors: Execs Think Blazers Won't Be Able to Satisfy PG's Wishes

The Portland Trail Blazers have remained undeterred in their hopes of building a roster around star point guard Damian Lillard that would help them compete for a title, but their efforts might not be enough to keep him happy.

"There is a belief among rival execs that the Blazers will not be able to do enough in the coming days to satisfy Lillard's stated desire to play for a winner, and the two sides will eventually decide its best for both to move on," Sports Illustrated's Chris Mannix reported Wednesday.

On Monday, Blazers general manager Joe Cronin issued a statement saying he met with Lillard and his agent, Aaron Goodwin, and "had a great dialogue. We remain committed to building a winner around Dame." That will be easier said than done, as Portland is coming off a 33-49 campaign and missed the playoffs for the second straight season.

Instead of trading the No. 3 pick in last week's NBA draft to acquire a star player to pair with Lillard, the Blazers used the pick to select promising combo guard Scoot Henderson. While Henderson has a bright future ahead of him, he's not the type of player who puts Portland over the top as a contender.

Though he hasn't explicitly stated that he wants to be traded, Lillard has not been shy about his desire to compete for a championship at this stage in his career. He will be 33 during the 2023-34 season and averaged a career-high 32.2 points this past year. However, he's been mired by injuries in recent seasons, appearing in 58 games in 2022-23 and just 29 games the previous year.

Mannix noted that while a quick resolution is not to be expected, "The risk of not trading Lillard before next season is enormous" because "he's an injury away from his value bottoming out."

It remains to be seen whether Portland will be successful in adding talent around Lillard, or if it will end up having to trade its longtime face of the franchise.