NBA Rumors: Blazers' Damian Lillard Expected to Request Trade Soon

Damian Lillard's displeasure with the Portland Trail Blazers and its fan base has become pretty public lately. As the Blazers moved on from longtime head coach Terry Stotts, Portland searched for a new leader for the first time in almost 10 years.

After going on a search, the Blazers decided on hiring a first-time head coach and former player, Chauncey Billups. According to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports, Billups was not on a list of preferred candidates from the team's franchise player.

Despite Lillard not suggesting the hiring of Billups behind the scenes, the Portland superstar took a lot of heat for the hiring as the new head coach's checkered past became public once again as he landed the job.

That left Lillard frustrated with the fans he remained loyal to after all of the years he spent donning a Blazers uniform. Mix that in with the fact that Lillard's reportedly skeptical of Portland's front office's ability to build a contender around him, and you've got a superstar who might be ready for a change of scenery.

For the last couple of months, Lillard was linked to many trade rumors. Although his name was creating some smoke in the NBA's trade market, he hadn't formally requested a trade from the Blazers. However, that's expected to change soon.

According to Henry Abbott of TrueHoop, Lillard plans to request a trade "in the days to come." That would mark the first time in his nine-year career he requests a ticket out of Portland. 

While Lillard could certainly change his mind over the next couple of days, the idea of starting fresh on a team that's ready to compete for a title now could very much outweigh the idea of remaining loyal to a franchise that's leaning more towards rebuild status.

If and when Lillard becomes available in the trade market, the Philadelphia 76ers will more than likely reach out to Portland. As the Sixers are willing to move on from Ben Simmons for an All-Star player in his prime, Lillard should be the number one target for Philly. While it'll probably cost a lot more than Simmons to land him, it would certainly be worth it to pair up Joel Embiid and Lillard for years to come.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.