Mar 8, 2023; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard (0) dribbles the ball against Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) in the second quarter at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports
Damian Lillard has already indicated that he wants the Blazers to trade their first-round pick. Now NBA rumors indicate he has a target in mind on the Celtics.
This season clearly didn’t end the way the Portland Trail Blazers or Damian Lillard were hoping — another fantastic individual season ending with a record well below 0.500 and the NBA Playoffs a distant dream.
The Trail Blazers will likely be working to re-sign Jerami Grant this offseason and have two first-round picks at their disposal (their own and the Knicks’) to try and make additional upgrades to the roster. Their own pick has a 10.5 percent chance of jumping to the top of the lottery but Lillard has already made it pretty clear he would like the Blazers to trade one or both of those picks for players who can help him win now, telling reporters: “I want a chance to go for it. And if the route is to (draft youth), then that’s not my route.”
NBA rumors indicate Damian Lillard might want the Blazers to trade for a rising Celtics star
In a recent appearance on a Portland sports radio station, Yahoo’s Jake Fischer named Jaylen Brown as a player Lillard might like to see the Blazers trade for:
“I’ll say that Jaylen Brown is a player that I believe Damian Lillard has had on his proverbial list of those switchy wing-type secondary stars like the Jerami Grants and the Aaron Gordons that have been recently linked to Portland and Dame for a while now.”
Lillard’s interest in having Jaylen Brown as a teammate is understandable but there is no real incentive for the Celtics to trade him right now. Despite a complicated season that saw him take criticism for passive support of Kyrie Irving and his connection to Kanye West, Brown has played extremely well and could be an All-NBA selection. He hit career-highs in points, rebounds and field goal percentage this season and is an integral part of Boston’s championship hopes this year.
The fact that the Celtics are in the playoffs and championship contenders means there probably won’t be any more movement on this for weeks, assuming there is even any fire to this smoke. And unless Brown asks out or the Blazers win the lottery and are able to put Victor Wembanyama on the table in addition to a war chest of future draft assets, this one seems incredibly unlikely.
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