We have seen Damian Lillard go coast to coast in the Games, but we can also see him going coast to coast in this game.
According to Mark Burman of the New York Post, The Knicks will be “ready to pews” should be made available to the Trail Blazers All-Star Guard this summer.
Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports painted a bleak picture of Lillard’s time in Portland, with low returns and early playoff improvements
The Knicks have enough cap space and enough trade ammunition to at least sniff at a deal featuring Lillard; Christa Popingis currently in New York sits with five first-round picks in the next three NBA drafts due to a trade, with the schedule for 2021 in cap space.
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The Knicks would easily be able to divert Lillard’s remaining money (over $ 39 million) to his salary position. Lillard has a four-year contract extension that will begin next season.
Some speculate that Lillard, who turns 31 in July, may make the move after another OK but not a great year for Portland; The Trail Blazers are the No. 6 seed in the Western Conference and have reached the Western Conference Finals once (2018-19 season) with Lillard. They have failed to advance to the first round in four seasons while Lillard has been the Blazers.
The Knicks sit at No. 4 in the Eastern Conference a few weeks before the start of the 2021 NBA playoffs, with Tom Thibodo climbing the helm. New York is a good supporting cast for Lillard, with a core in RJ Barrett and Julius Randle as potential winners of the NBA’s Most Improved Player Award.
New York has long looked for solutions to its years of point guard dilemma, and it may soon be “Dame Time” on the East Coast.
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