Getty Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard celebrates after winning a gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics.
In spite of the drama that has unfolded around Ben Simmons and the Philadelphia 76ers this summer, its entirely possible — perhaps even likely — that he’ll be with the team for the start of the 2021-22 NBA season. That’s not a bad thing, either; warts and all, Simmons remains an elite floor general and a walking triple-double.
Still, some in the City of Brotherly Love would like to see him traded and Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard is usually No. 1 on their wish list. Sixers president Daryl Morey is said to “long for” the six-time All-Star as well.
As it stands, though, Lillard has denied that he’s looking to get himself traded out of PDX. So, the odds of Philly landing him are likely not great at this juncture. On the other hand, one team insider believes the Sixers’ chances are significantly better now than they were just a few short weeks ago.
Even as they have largely settled for marginal-improvement maneuvers this offseason.
According to The Athletic’s Derek Bodner, the potential for a Lillard-to-Philly move is far greater now than it had been previously thanks to the changing landscape of the league. In particular, a pair of playoff teams may have taken themselves out of the running as possible landing spots.
Lillard’s Options Shrinking?
Per Bodner, the New York Knicks and Miami Heat have seemingly opted out of the Lillard sweepstakes by doling out massive sums in player contracts this summer and adding Kemba Walker and Kyle Lowry to run point for their respective squads.
“With two major contenders off the board, and with Lillard’s eventual dissatisfaction with the Blazers’ chances entirely predictable, the Sixers’ position to land Lillard has grown stronger,” Bodner opined. “And considerably so.”
That’s not to say that anything is about to happen — a Lillard move is just likelier now than it had been.
Wrote Bodner:
“It would be much more reassuring for me to write ‘the moves so far in free agency have made it a lock that Damian Lillard will become a Sixer’, but that’s not the world we live in. Writing that the odds of landing Lillard have improved from, say, a 15 percent chance to 40 percent would be a significant, massive, potentially franchise-altering jump in odds, presenting a very real chance of making a move which alters the landscape of the NBA.”
That’s not much for those fans who are dreaming of Lillard to cling to, but it’s not nothing, either.
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Morey More Concerned With Adding Star Than Moving Simmons
Regardless of what happens with Simmons, it’s clear that Morey has been jonesing for a major acquisition. As noted by Bodner and others, he was hot on James Harden’s tail before the Houston Rockets sent him to the Brooklyn Nets.
He also reportedly balked at making a harder push for Lowry at the trade deadline in hopes of reeling in an even bigger fish.
Now Lillard looks to be his white whale. According to Bodner, Morey has “kept a watchful eye” on Lillard’s status in Portland. He adds, “From the Sixers’ perspective, it would be fair to say the goal is less to trade Ben Simmons and more to acquire Damian Lillard.”
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