Damian Lillard trade rumors have found their way back to the main stage of NBA news.
Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports dropped a bomb on the NBA world, and it could potentially pique the interest of the Boston Celtics.
With news breaking that the Portland Trail Blazers are signing Chauncey Billups as their new head coach, fans began to voice their concerns.
Some even decided to target Lillard on Twitter. They claim that he pushed back on candidates such as Becky Hammon in favor of Billups.
Lillard responded on Twitter denying these claims. He has continuously voiced his frustration on Twitter over the past few days in relation to these accusations.
Haynes put out an article for Yahoo Sports detailing Lillard’s dissatisfaction. More specifically, Lillard is slowly becoming more and more irritated with the way fans are treating him.
"“Lillard has remained loyal to Portland in large part due to the tremendous fan base. But over the last few days, he’s seen some of those same fans attacking him on social media for a pending coaching hire he played no part in consummating, sources said.” – Chris Haynes"
These fans are upset over the fact that Billups is being hired despite his history of sexual assault allegations. According to Haynes, Lillard “had no prior knowledge of the past sexual assault allegations against him from 1997.”
How does this turmoil affect the Celtics, you might ask? Well, if Lillard eventually goes on the market, Boston should certainly enquire about a trade.
Lillard is one of the best point guards in the NBA (obviously). That just so happens to be the position where the Boston Celtics need help the most.
Unfortunately, a move as gigantic as this will cost an arm and a leg.
So, what are some potential deals the Cs could pull off in order to trade for Lillard?
Welp, we at HH have compiled 2, in specific, that could potentially be offered:
Boston Celtics trade No. 1) No Jaylen Brown included
If Boston Celtics fans don’t want to give up Jaylen Brown, this is the sort of package is somewhere around what Brad Stevens would likely have to give up.
Lillard is a top 10 player in the NBA and the price tag will be hefty. Marcus Smart and Tristan Thompson are there to make the money work.
Past that, it’s all about young assets and picks.
Robert Williams played extremely well last season, especially down the stretch. The same can be said for Payton Pritchard, so both would likely have to be included.
Romeo Langford is more of a project, but Portland would be willing to take a chance. They might even ask for Aaron Nesmith or both.
A player of his caliber would also likely garner three to four first-round picks at the least. The package for James Harden included four firsts and four pick swaps.
The big difference between the package for Harden and a potential package for Lillard is that Harden essentially told the world he wanted to go to Brooklyn. This meant that the Rockets had a lot less leverage.
Meanwhile, Lillard has yet to even officially request a trade from Portland. This means the Trail Blazers currently have all of the leverage in negotiations.
That being said, depending on what other teams are willing to offer, a trade like this could potentially get done.
It just depends on what direction the Blazers want to go.
Boston Celtics trade No. 2) Jaylen Brown included
If the Boston Celtics were completely committed to getting Lillard, trading Brown would likely be a must.
He’s by far the most valuable asset on the team outside of Jayson Tatum.
It would also allow the Cs to put together one of the best packages in the league. It gives the Trail Blazers a young star to build around, as well as some young assets and picks.
The real question is whether or not Brad Stevens is willing to trade 24-year-old Brown away for a few years of 30-year-old Lillard.
It’s a high-risk, high-reward tradeoff.
Fans would likely be split 50/50 on whether or not the Celtics should pursue this deal. Unless Lillard outright requests to be traded to Beantown, however, Brown would probably be included in packages.
As mentioned, including Brown would give the team one of the best chances to land Lillard. Pairing a young All-Star with other assets is an ideal package for Portland.
Other teams around the league could put together similar packages, however. It would just depend on what the Trail Blazers value most.
The Nuggets have a solid chance by trading Jamal Murray or Michael Porter Jr., while the 76ers could offer Ben Simmons.
The Blazers would have their pick of the litter of young, All-Star caliber players.