LeBron James is a member of the Los Angeles Lakers, and even with rumblings that he isn’t putting pressure on the organization to acquire a second star immediately, the rumor mill continues to churn. That comes as no surprise, particularly given the weird state of L.A.’s current roster, but on Friday, more fuel was added to the fire – centered on Blazers guard Damian Lillard.
Ramona Shelburne, in visiting with ESPN Los Angeles, shared some interesting information.
“I’ve been hearing that in the wind for several months now.”
– @ramonashelburne on Damian Lillard wanting to be traded to the Lakers
— ESPN Los Angeles (@ESPNLosAngeles) July 6, 2018
On its surface, this isn’t that much to go on, even with the caveat that Shelburne is incredibly plugged in around the league and, particularly, in Los Angeles. Beyond that, though, there is more chatter occurring.
Stephen A. Smith, on his ESPN Radio show on Thursday, tossed out some thoughts on Lillard and a potential desire for a trade to the Lakers. (h/t Blazers Edge.)
“And if Damian Lillard is going to leave the comfortable and financially beneficial confines of Portland, it’s only for two places from what I’m being told. He’s only interested in New York or LA. One of the two. New York or LA, and by LA, I mean the Lakers, not the Clippers. That’s what Damian Lillard wants. His preference would be for the Portland Trail Blazers to find somebody, somebody big time to join him and CJ McCollum in Portland. That’s Damian Lillard’s preference. But if they can’t improve the team and if they can’t find anybody, then he’s interested in going one of two places: my sources tell me it’s the Lakers or the Knicks.”
Obviously, there is a lot of reading between the lines to do here and it is definitely worth noting that Lillard himself responded directly to a fan tweeting at him about the Lakers with the notion that he is a “happy camper.”
I’m typically a happy camper https://t.co/LvFoTwlEFW
— Damian Lillard (@Dame_Lillard) July 4, 2018
It also should be noted that the initial comments from Shelburne were lent more context after the fact with a much needed clarification.
And then I said he’s got a lot of time left on his deal… no way he’d push his way out…and no fan base hates the Lakers more than Portland so I don’t see anything happening. Sheesh.
— Ramona Shelburne (@ramonashelburne) July 6, 2018
Finally, Blazers GM Neil Olshey attempted to quickly dispel the notion that Lillard could be shuffled to Los Angeles.
Neil Olshey on the Lakers wanting to trade for Damian Lillard "Lebron doesn't get to pick his team. It's much ado about noting"
— Art Edwards (@artedwardskgw) July 6, 2018
The Lakers would almost certainly have real interest in adding Lillard, particularly if James gave his blessing to a pursuit of the All-NBA guard. Beyond that, Lillard would add a legitimate floor spacer and, to put it plainly, that is something the Lakers desperately need with their current roster construction.
On Portland’s side of things, it might make sense to (finally) pull the trigger on a move that breaks up the guard duo of Lillard and CJ McCollum and a deal involving Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball and/or Kyle Kuzma might bring enough value back to the Blazers to make things interesting. At this stage, we haven’t reached full-fledged “rumor” status of trade talks here, but the Lakers and Blazers might be a match in a trade (especially if the Lakers give up on a Kawhi deal). If Los Angeles pulled a move off, they would be a lot more interesting for the title race next season.
