How the Blazers' No. 3 pick could impact Damian Lillard's future | NBA Today

NBA today is presented by Xfinity mobile, the best kept wireless secret and in part by Expedia made to travel the loyalty part as just who I am. I roll with who I roll with. And if I was to ever not get that loyalty in return, then I can live with that because I don't expect everybody to be me. Damian Lillard was in another market other than the Pacific Northwest. We'd be talking more about Damian Lillard. This is a superstar. And I think this year, you know, I did think I had my best year individually, but it didn't, it didn't lead to wins. If I was a betting man, I would say this is the last that we've seen of him there. I don't have much of an appetite for building, you know, guys two and three years away from really going after, you know what I'm saying? Damian Lillard, he wears his identity right, right on his chest. The zero that he wears is not actually a zero. It's an O for Oakland, where he grew up, for Oregon, where he's now playing, for Ogden, where he went to school. But Brian, despite the fact that he's played his entire career with the Portland Trailblazers over and over again, year after year, we hear the calls for when is this time going to be up with the Blazers? They get louder and louder. So Portland has the number three pick in the 2023 NBA draft. What are you hearing about both their plans for that pick and then also how that could impact Dame's future? Yeah. So over the last couple of days, Malika teams who've been dealing with the Blazers have come to the conclusion that the Blazers are going to probably keep that pick. At least that's their plan on Tuesday of draft week, which is the centerpiece for misinformation. But and Jonathan Gavone in his mock draft he released today backed up what I had heard as well, that that is what the Blazers are currently planning. And Dame Lillard, as you know, at the end of the season, made it clear he did not want to play with another young player. He wanted the Blazers to trade that pick for, you know, veteran help that could help him immediately. And the Blazers general manager, Joe Cronin, echoed that. So after hearing what the Blazers plans were, I checked in on Dame's side of it. And I was told that Dame's feelings are exactly the same, that he wants to play with veteran help and wants that to come immediately. He's not interested in a youth movement now just because they don't trade the number three pick Malika. It doesn't mean that they're not going out and trying to get veterans. And just because you're saying they're going to use the pick on Tuesday doesn't mean that they're going to use it on Thursday. But I do think that that is a bit of a pinch point for the future of Dame Lillard is what the Blazers decide to do with this pick. And that video that we just showed is actually from today of Damian Lillard in the facility, which he so often does in the offseason. He's regularly there. He's regularly working out. But those shots that he was getting up were from today. Dame Brian is arguably coming off one of his best offensive years ever. He put up over 32 points per game, 46 percent from the field. However, he did sit out the last 10 games of the season after it was clear that the Blazers, they would not make the playoffs. And then Portland lost nine of those. Of course, that also just so happened to help their lottery odds a bit here. So back here with Richard Jefferson and Austin Rivers joining us as well. Earlier this morning, Damian Lillard, he liked to tweet about Zion Williamson. It said, quote, The Blazers should go out and get Zion at Damian Lillard. So what do you think, Richard? What should the Blazers do here? I don't know. I think they waited about a year too long, in my personal opinion. I think they waited about a year too long. You have to make a decision as a franchise. I respect Dame's loyalty. I respect his game and what he brings every single day. Even when they lose players, they're not as talented. He brings it every single day. Dame is one of the most respected competitors in our league. At the end of the day, it's the same thing with Washington. What are you doing? Can you build a team around them? No. Then move on with them or just say we're going to start over. So you don't know. I don't know the direction of the organization. They've changed their coaches. They've changed their GM. There's been rumors that they're possibly up for sale. So you don't know what they're doing as far as are we going to go into the tax? Because we know it's damn near impossible to win the championship unless you're lucky without going into the tax. So I don't know what they're doing. I want to see Dame play in meaningful games. I think we're going to see that with Bradley Beal. I want to see him back there, but that's all we know. I don't know what the Blazers are going to do. I think if they draft that pick and they keep it, that should say something to Dame because his window is closing and it's closing quickly. Austin, you play against Dame all of the time. When you head to Portland, what is the mindset playing against this team? What is the feeling of what they are missing? They're missing a lot. Damian is the one guy on the scouting report that you really key in on. For me personally, I'm in agreeance with Richard. They're not one piece away from being a contender. So I don't really understand the point of them trying to go get a Zion or anything like that. I think at this point in his career where he's at, he's 30 years old, he's still in his prime. I would love to see him play meaningful basketball. He's done his service in Portland. He's actually passed the time of that in my opinion. I think a little of this or a lot of this is him really not wanting to fall on his own sword because he's been so adamant about not chasing rings and not leaving and he wants to stay loyal to Portland. But I think he's shown that. I would like to see him out of there. I would like to see Portland take scoot and restart. They still have Simons. They still have Jeremy Grant. They have young talent. They can kind of rebuild. I would like to see Damian go to a contending team and play some big-time basketball. He's a big-time player. He's one of the best point guards in the NBA. I would love to see him out of there. You said that it's not necessarily one or the other. That they draft, that Portland drafts the number three pick and that that automatically means that Damian Lillard is going to be leaving. So what would the signal be? What are you hearing on that front? Yeah, so there's been this term that's been floating around in Portland. It's been floating. You know, Jonathan Gavone has used it. It's been used in people that I've talked to out of Portland. Thread the needle. And this is sort of trademarked. Thread the needle, which kind of means draft a player and keep Dame. And we know how hard threading the needle is. I mean, yes, it's possible. Do I think it's likely? I'm not so clear on that. And Malika, here's what I think has really happened here. When the Blazers were holding the fifth pick, it was easier to envision trading it for a veteran. When they hopped up in the lottery and got very fortunate, they got a chance to draft the player who potentially would have been the number one pick last year or next year or the year after. And the looking at passing up on that player versus what you can get in trade became a lot more difficult. And so I think they're trying to get day. And by the way, I'm not surprised at all day was there today because from what I understand, Dame has been involved in the draft process. He has been, he's been at some of the draft workouts. He has been in some meetings with them, but the, but the issue is he's just at the point where he's not, he just doesn't want to go that, that direction. And he has wavered back and forth. I don't think he's anything is locked down. I want to be very careful not to paint myself into a corner here, but it was been, it's been made clear to me that threading the needle might not be a viable option for the Blazers. Yeah. You said it on the hoop collective podcast. Damian Lillard is as involved, understands the cap, understands a new CBA as much as any star in the league. He studies these things. He wants to understand the business side of basketball as well. I'm a terrible seamstress. I can't sew. So I wish the Blazers the very best of luck with trying to thread that needle. But what direction Portland's going to go? And that's just one of the many questions that are coming up this off season. It's all a puzzle. And Bobby Marks, he explains how the pieces are going to need to fit together for the 20, 23, 24 seasons. From the first player, domino to fall bread, van fleet is declining is $22.8 million player option. The team's reinventing themselves with blockbuster trades. The Washington wizards are finalizing a trade to send Bradley Beal to the Phoenix, looking for the next all-star shift to shake up the league. It is not hyperbole to say that the entire power dynamic of the NBA has shifted overnight. We're about to enter arguably the most exciting time in the NBA, the off season. It all starts in Dallas with the future of Kyrie Irving. After acquiring the former all-star in February, the Mavericks are faced with a decision. Do they sign the guard and pair them up with Luca Donchik for the foreseeable future? Or after losing Jalen Brunson last off season, this history once again, repeat itself this time with Irving. And if it does, is there a reunion in store with his former teammate, LeBron James in Los Angeles? Speaking of reunions is Houston. The next stop for James Harden, a hardened return to Houston accelerates a three-year rebuild that started when the former MVP was traded to Brooklyn. It would also leave the current MVP, Joel Embiid in Philadelphia without their second best player and forced to explore the trade market searching for his replacement. Irving and Harden join a free agent class that includes Fred Van Vliet, Brooke Lopez and Draymond Green. Team building is also at the forefront. This off season, the Golden State Warriors enter the off season without the architect to their four championships. GM Bob Myers, the future of Draymond Green and a new collective bargaining agreement that penalizes and restricts roster building for high spending teams could see the Warriors championship window begin to close. And finally, who is the next all-star under contract on the move? So grab your popcorn and buckle up because the games might be over, but a new sweepstakes has begun. Oh, I'm grabbing my popcorn box.