The Portland Trail Blazers sent Norman Powell and Robert Covington to the Los Angeles Clippers, and Twitter users are wondering what’s next for Damian Lillard.
The NBA trade deadline is on Feb. 10, giving teams in playoff contention the opportunity to make a move to help them make a push for the NBA Championship. The Portland Trail Blazers are currently in position to participate in the Play-In Round, but not by much.
On Friday, Feb. 4, the Trail Blazers made a trade with the Los Angeles Clippers. In said deal, the Clippers acquired Eric Bledsoe, Justise Winslow, Keon Johnson and a 2025 second-round pick (via the Detroit Pistons) in exchange for Norman Powell and Robert Covington.
After the trade was reported by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Twitter users were wondering what is next for Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard.
NBA Twitter wonders what’s next for Damian Lillard after Trail Blazers-Clippers trade
As for the trade, Trail Blazers interim general manager Joe Cronin told Ben Golliver of the Washington Post that they decided to trade Powell and Covington to the Clippers for “cap flexibility,” citing the NBA Draft and free agency.
Additionally, Wojnarowski noted that the emergence of Anfernee Simons gave the Trail Blazers reason to trade Powell.
Lillard is in the first year of his four-year, $176.3 million contract with Portland. He has been sidelined since the team’s139-106 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Dec. 31 due to an abdominal injury. Lillard underwent surgery on Jan. 13, and was expected to be evaluated six weeks after the fact, so it is unknown if he will actually return this season.
Through 29 games this season, Lillard averaged 24.0 points, 7.3 assists and 4.1 rebounds while shooting 40.2-percent from the field and 32.4-percent from the three-point line.
As for what will come next for the Trail Blazers, we will have to wait until the trade deadline. After that, the offseason will answer a ton of questions regarding what is next for the team and Lillard.