NBA Rumors: LeBron James 'Respects' Damian Lillard's Game Amid Lakers Buzz
Zach Lowe of ESPN.com released his annual column of bold predictions for the 2018-19 season, and one of them was that the Portland Trail Blazers would implode this season and shake up the roster in the offseason.
He then suggested that a fascinating potential trade would be Damian Lillard heading to the Los Angeles Lakers:
"The most enticing mega-trade on the board not involving Anthony Davis: Lillard to the Lakers for a package centered around Lonzo Ball. Lillard is a perfect fit next to LeBron, and LeBron respects Lillard's game, per sources familiar with the matter. The Lakers could absorb Lillard into cap space this summer without sending out giant matching salaries—salaries they don't have on the books."
Lowe added, however, that such a deal is probably a long shot, especially during the season: "Lillard loves Portland. The Lakers are optimistic about how their young players will mesh with LeBron, and they should be. Unless a deal for Davis falls into their lap during the season, I'd expect (bonus prediction!) the Lakers to hold their cards into the summer."
The combination of Lillard and James would be frightening, however, giving James a similar talent to the one he had in his Cleveland years with Kyrie Irving. Like Irving, Lillard is dangerous on the ball but is also effective off it, which would take pressure off James as both a facilitator and scorer.
Last season, Lillard averaged 26.9 points, 6.6 assists and 4.5 rebounds per game, shooting 43.9 percent from the field and 36.1 percent from three. He continues to be one of the NBA's most dynamic perimeter playmakers and scorers.
But he's also the face of the Trail Blazers franchise, and it's hard to imagine the organization parting with him lightly. Were they to blow things up, the safer money might be on CJ McCollum being traded first. If Lillard were shipped out of Portland, it would mean the Blazers were completely starting from scratch.
That isn't an impossible scenario. The Trail Blazers are legitimate title contenders in a conference run by the Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets, James' signing in Los Angeles means the Lakers are likely to enter contending status once they add a second (and possibly third star), and there are other playoff-bound organizations that appear to have a higher ceiling than the Blazers like the Utah Jazz and Oklahoma City Thunder.
Given that landscape, Portland could choose to start over at some point, especially if it struggles or doesn't make the postseason. It will be a fascinating storyline to follow.
