They've made it out of the first round twice since LaMarcus Aldridge left. The Blazers spent the past half-decade acting like a contender when there was never any evidence to suggest that they were one. Sam Quinn: I think we can boil Portland's predicament down to one fatal flaw: a lack of self-awareness. But should interim general manager Joe Cronin pay the sort of price that would satisfy the Sixers? Is he even empowered to make such a move?Īnd what about the extension? Given that the Miami Heat have committed to paying Jimmy Butler upwards of $50 million in his age-36 season, is this simply the cost of doing business with a superstar in his early 30s? Are the Blazers better off tearing it all down? It feels like everything - from trading Lillard to trading just about everybody except Lillard - is on the table, and the biggest variable is how badly ownership wants its franchise player to end his career where he started it. It makes sense that Lillard would want to play with Simmons, an all-world defender who is awesome in transition, puts pressure on the rim and addresses all of Portland's most persistent problems.
Lillard will turn 37 in the summer of 2027. In July, Lillard will be eligible to sign a two-year, $107 million extension that would keep him under contract until the summer of 2027. They discussed a Simmons-for-McCollum swap that would've sent one first-rounder and either Nassir Little or Anfernee Simons to the 76ers, but Philly wanted multiple picks and multiple swaps, per The Athletic.
Lillard's camp wanted the Blazers to trade McCollum and four first-round picks for Ben Simmons, per Wojnarowski. CBS Sports' James Herbert and Sam Quinn are here to sort through all the bad news and try to make sense of Portland's murky future:
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