Opinion: The Blazers Should Trade Damian Lillard To The Nets For Kyrie Irving
The month of December has not been kind to the Portland Trail Blazers.
Their best player Damian Lillard has missed the last five games with an abdominal injury, and their second best player C.J. McCollum is now out for an indefinite amount of time with a collapsed lung.
Not to mention they also fired their President of Basketball Operations Neil Olshey earlier in the month.
They are now 11-15 through all of this, and are led by a first-year head coach in Chauncey Billups.
I think that it's time for the franchise to move in another direction.
In 2019, they peaked when they made the Western Conference (they were swept by the Golden State Warriors), and have lost in the first round of the playoffs in back-to-back seasons.
Lillard has carried the franchise on his back for many years, and is now 31-years-old.
I believe that they should trade the former Weber State star to the Brooklyn Nets for Kyrie Irving.
Why would this trade work for both sides?
The Trail Blazers need to try something new, maybe it's a full on rebuild, maybe it's retooling, but whatever the decision is, there needs to be something that is much different than the status quo.
Trading for Irving is exactly the kind of move that would totally shake the franchise up.
For starters, Irving is nearly two years younger than Lillard.
In fact, from a talent perspective Irving might even be the better player, Lillard however is a much more proven leader of a franchise.
This season, the Nets star point guard has yet to play in any games, because he is not eligible to play in home games at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, due to the vaccine mandate.
He could be a part-time player, but the Nets said before the season that they would not allow him to be with the team until he could be a full-time participant.
Therefore, the Nets have one of the greatest players of all-time on the roster, and have not gotten any production from him this season, so any trade of Irving would only upgrade the roster.
Meanwhile, the Trail Blazers have had Lillard in 20 games this season, and he is averaging 21.5 points, 4.0 rebounds and 7.8 assists per game.
His averages are solid, but he is shooting a career-low 30.4% from the three-point range.
Not to mention if the playoffs began on Friday, they would not be in the picture.
In a hypothetical deal they could maybe even get the Nets to throw in a younger player such as Cam Thomas or Nicolas Claxton.
The biggest thing is the fact that Irving would be eligible to play in all of the team's games because there is no mandate like in New York City for the vaccine.
There is no reason the Nets should not try to make this move, because they have a 33-year-old Kevin Durant playing arguably the best basketball of his career, and a 32-year-old James Harden who has yet to win an NBA title.
As for the Trail Blazers they would have to be willing to give up their long time face of the franchise, and take the gamble that Irving would even want to play for them.
Is this deal likely?
No.
Is there any reported interested from either side?
No.
However, it's something I think that both teams should heavily consider.
