Will Pelicans make a big trade in 2022? 3 names to watch

Will Damian Lillard be traded?

The Portland Trailblazers are certainly at a crossroads.

They are currently outside of the playoffs (or even the play-in) are plummeting down the standings, have next to zero young talent and have a combined $70 million tied up in a backcourt that is a combined 61 years of age.

Damian Lillard wants to be the highest paid player in the NBA and if the Blazers give in, they are doomed. Of course, if they don’t, their fans might revolt, so this is not a great time to be the GM in Portland.

The only conceivable way the Trail Blazers can rebuild is by trading Lillard now, as he is still one of the top guards in the league.

There are so many reasons this won’t happen:

• Portland may cling to Lillard, and try to move McCollum instead, likely taking pennies on the dollar for a guy who is making over $33 million for the next two seasons after this one.
• The Pelicans don’t have the salaries to match unless they include Ingram, which I don’t think they would do.
• Lillard has as much power as any superstar in the league and can likely choose his next destination if he wants to be traded. Would he want to come to New Orleans and join another team not expected to compete for a title this season?
• It would likely take at least three teams, maybe four, to find the right combination and the Pelicans would have to give up pretty much all of their assets to make it happen.

HOWEVER. If they could make this happen without trading BI, the Pelicans would have one of the best starting units in the NBA next season and would be a title contender in the Western Conference for the next few seasons.

It would be a bold move by David Griffin, one I can’t really imagine him making, but we are going to start hearing the rumors with every Portland loss.