Is Damian Lillard encouraging the Portland Trail Blazers to lure Jaylen Brown away from the Boston Celtics?
Well, that’s what the never-ending NBA rumor mill suggested.
That’s right. Brown, yet again, is involved in a trade rumor — just months following the media frenzy that linked him to the Brooklyn Nets and Kevin Durant, before the season even began.
While the Celtics prepare for their NBA playoff journey, awaiting their first-round opponent, the Trail Blazers weren’t nearly as successful in sinking their shot at postseason glory. Portland finished as the Western Conference’s No. 13 seed at 33-49, which made for the third-worst record in the NBA this season. The Blazers also went 1-9 in their final 10 games, with the focus now directed toward the NBA draft lottery.
But apparently, Lillard, Portland’s face of the franchise, isn’t content with the front office’s inability to surround him with a capable supporting cast.
“I’ll say this, Jaylen Brown is a player that Damian Lillard has had on his list,” Yahoo Sports’ Jake Fischer said Monday on 1080 The Fan’s “Dirt & Sprague.”
Lillard has advocated for the anti-super team brigade, noting on several occasions he’d never flee Portland by choice and join forces for an easier path to the NBA Finals. However, that doesn’t mean he wouldn’t welcome some fellow All-Star-caliber talent to Portland with open arms.
“If it’s a player that I felt like could help our team, I’d be like, ‘You should come to Portland,’ ” Lillard said in 2021 on an episode of the “Million Dollaz Worth Of Game” podcast. “I would run it by them with that, but I’m not about to click up where it’s damn near guaranteed win.”
Considering Lillard is owed over $40 million annually for the next three years, coupled with Brown’s impending free agency, which should net the Celtics star a handsome payday, it’s hard to imagine the Trail Blazers finding the cap space to make this duo financially feasible.
Still, can’t blame Lillard for dreaming, right?
