After another first-round playoff exit, there is plenty of speculation in Portland that Trailblazers star Damian Lillard could be on the trade market.
After a first-round playoff exit of their own to close out a disappointing season, there is plenty of speculation in Boston that the Celtics could look to shake up their roster this offseason while building around budding star Jayson Tatum.
According to Sports Illustrated senior NBA writer Chris Mannix, it’s not too hard connect the two NBA offseason storylines.
Can the Celtics get Lillard?
“It’s a good question,” Mannix told WEEI’s Tanguay and Hart show over the weekend. “I don’t know. I do think the Blazers and Lillard are reaching kind of a breaking point. He had that Instagram post right after the loss that seemed to suggest he’s getting really frustrated with the outcomes of these playoff series. He wants Jason Kidd (to coach) there. He wants to be in Portland, he’s always said that. But there is definitely a league wide sense that that team had plateaued.
“Lillard is going to be 31 next season and if you are going to trade him now is the time because that contract gets really onerous as it gets toward the back end of his years. It’s in the $50 million-per-season range on that max deal. So if you are looking to maximize your revenue you have to look around to trade him. Boston, as they always are, are in a good position because of the young talent. Because you could put Jaylen Brown as the centerpiece of a deal that would include all the young guys on your roster plus future draft picks as well.
“So I think it’s possible. If Portland shops him, Boston is going to be in a good position. If you look around, Bradley Beal is not going to go to Portland because he’s not going to re-sign there. You have to get guys to Portland that are on long term contracts and Jaylen Brown is one of those young guys, 24 years old, that would fit that bill.
Lillard is under contract through the end of the 2024-25 NBA season. His salary for next year is $39 million and, as Mannix alluded to, grows to just under $49 million in the final year of the deal.
Lillard is a six-time All-Star who averaged 28.8 points per game last season and has topped 25 points per game in each of the last six seasons. He averaged 34.3 points per game while losing to the Nuggets of the first round of the playoffs this spring.