The Damian Lillard trade rumors have been heating up as of late and one of the most likely destinations for the Portland Megastar is none other than the NY Knicks.
I’ve personally written about a number of trades that would net Lillard, so it only makes sense for me to now react to a trade proposed by Bleacher Report.
Here is the trade:
The Knicks should be able to put together a compelling offer for Portland, but there are other teams out there who may be able to float out a proposal of a similar caliber.
Lillard has been the centerpiece for the Blazers for nearly a decade now and where he would like to go should play a big role in where he’s ultimately dealt.
Should the NY Knicks make this trade with Portland for Damian Lillard?
With one of his best friends and former coach in Johnnie Bryant on the Knicks’ staff, New York would surely be atop the list of viable destinations.
The author, Andy Bailey, also included trade packages from Boston, Philly, and New Orleans.
In my opinion, the best proposal was from the Knicks but I also might have a bit of bias here.
Bailey’s reasoning for the trade was as follows:
"Barrett is coming off a strong sophomore campaign in which he averaged 17.6 points and shot 40.1 percent from three. His defense improved immensely under Tom Thibodeau, and he’s still just 21 years old.Combining him with Immanuel Quickley’s sparkplug scoring and Mitchell Robinson’s rim running and backline defense would give the Blazers a strong young core around which to start a rebuild.The picks here may not be terribly valuable, though. If New York has Lillard and Julius Randle, it’s likely to make the playoffs in the weaker Eastern Conference for the foreseeable future. Having Lillard could attract top-tier free agents in future offseasons, too.You never know what can happen with those picks, though. If Lillard is hurt for a significant portion of 2022-23, maybe that one makes its way into the lottery. Still, Portland might want to insist on including one more first. And if it did, the Knicks would probably be wise to ante up."
If I’m Leon Rose, I couldn’t pull the trigger on that trade fast enough, although I do believe the Knicks can find a way to get the deal done without having to include RJ Barrett.
Here’s a trade I came up with:
Giving up the trio of Mitch, IQ, and Obi definitely stings but the Knicks are getting arguably the best point guard in the game by many people’s standards in return.
A small price to pay for a player of Lillard’s caliber.
Additionally, even though the Knicks are giving up 3 picks and 2 pick swaps, another wrinkle in the Kristaps Porzingis trade from 2019 is that the Knicks still have a 1st round pick every year from 2021 until 2025.
Keeping RJ Barrett is a huge plus but keeping a 1st rounder in every year moving forward is tremendous for NY.
With the plethora of 2nd round picks the Knicks have as well, both their present and future would both be solidified.