NBA Rumors: Damian Lillard's Loyalty to Blazers Increases Trade Value, Insider Says

Damian Lillard's longtime loyalty to the Portland Trail Blazers might increase his value on the trade market.

"You don't go after Dame Lillard thinking he's going to be demanding a trade in a few months," an NBA source told Steve Bulpett of Heavy Sports. "It took him this long to ask out of Portland, when a lot of people around the league were expecting him to get frustrated with things there a long, long time ago. But he hung in. You've got to give him credit for that, and we all do. That buys him a lot of room. It adds to his value."

Lillard has played all 11 of his NBA seasons in Portland, but his time with the Blazers appears headed for its end after he requested a trade on July 1.

In an era where trade requests are a yearly occurrence and superstars change cities every season, Lillard was an anomaly. The seven-time All-Star and seven-time All-NBA player stayed in town for a decade-plus. The reality of the situation is that the Blazers are far away from competing for a championship, especially after a disappointing 33-49 season.

Young talents are there (e.g. Scoot Henderson, Shaedon Sharpe) to hopefully create a better future, but Lillard is 32 years old and assuredly on the back half of his career. If he wants to win a championship, he's best suited going elsewhere at this stage.

Ultimately, Lillard did all he could to try to bring a title to Portland. The Blazers made the playoffs eight straight years under Lillard, including a 2019 Western Conference Finals appearance. Portland was unlucky to face the Golden State Warriors buzzsaw and got swept, but the Blazers were still a good to very good team with Lillard running the show.

Now he'll head elsewhere and try to win a championship with a team presumably closer to a title.