First Take: . @CJMcCollum weighs in on Dame’s future in Portland: “The market will dictate what happens here. … If I was a betting man, I would say this is the last that we’ve seen of him [in Portland].”
Source: Twitter
Source: Twitter
What’s the buzz on Twitter?
Kurt Helin @basketballtalk
Lillard said he expects to be in Portland next season, so everyone starts trade speculation. Again.
nba.nbcsports.com/2023/06/07/lil… – 12:56 PM
Lillard said he expects to be in Portland next season, so everyone starts trade speculation. Again.
nba.nbcsports.com/2023/06/07/lil… – 12:56 PM
Brian Robb @BrianTRobb
Damian Lillard hasn’t asked for a trade out of Portland just yet but he put a couple of potential destinations ahead of Boston for such a scenario masslive.com/celtics/2023/0… – 11:14 AM
Damian Lillard hasn’t asked for a trade out of Portland just yet but he put a couple of potential destinations ahead of Boston for such a scenario masslive.com/celtics/2023/0… – 11:14 AM
Surya Fernandez @SuryaHeatNBA
South Florida teams simultaneously trying to win the NBA Finals, the Stanley Cup, and acquire Lionel Messi. Oh and maybe trade for Damian Lillard. Dolphins and Marlins, let’s step it up okay? – 11:06 AM
South Florida teams simultaneously trying to win the NBA Finals, the Stanley Cup, and acquire Lionel Messi. Oh and maybe trade for Damian Lillard. Dolphins and Marlins, let’s step it up okay? – 11:06 AM
Barry Jackson @flasportsbuzz
NEW: In an interview with ESPN’s Brian Custer, Portland All Star Damian Lillard lists Heat as “obviously” a top choice if he asks for a trade. He hasn’t yet, as Blazers continue to mull future and what to do with No. 3 pick: miamiherald.com/sports/spt-col… – 10:23 AM
NEW: In an interview with ESPN’s Brian Custer, Portland All Star Damian Lillard lists Heat as “obviously” a top choice if he asks for a trade. He hasn’t yet, as Blazers continue to mull future and what to do with No. 3 pick: miamiherald.com/sports/spt-col… – 10:23 AM
Erik Slater @erikslater_
Damian Lillard’s response when asked which of the Heat, Knicks, Celtics, or Nets he wouldn’t mind being traded to:
Miami and Brooklyn.
“Miami is the obvious one. Bam is my dog. Brooklyn is another obvious one because Mikal Bridges is my dog too. Both have capable rosters.” pic.twitter.com/UZEy6cvqIp – 9:58 AM
Damian Lillard’s response when asked which of the Heat, Knicks, Celtics, or Nets he wouldn’t mind being traded to:
Miami and Brooklyn.
“Miami is the obvious one. Bam is my dog. Brooklyn is another obvious one because Mikal Bridges is my dog too. Both have capable rosters.” pic.twitter.com/UZEy6cvqIp – 9:58 AM
Get Up @GetUpESPN
“We talked about playoff Jimmy. Playoff Joker, regular season Joker? This guy is unstoppable.”
—@CJMcCollum pic.twitter.com/LtAQirkIUn – 9:38 AM
“We talked about playoff Jimmy. Playoff Joker, regular season Joker? This guy is unstoppable.”
—@CJMcCollum pic.twitter.com/LtAQirkIUn – 9:38 AM
Tom Ziller @teamziller
I wrote about overthinking the Scoot Henderson sweepstakes, including a suggestion that (if he’s there at 3) the Blazers should just draft him AND keep Dame for now. ziller.substack.com/p/why-not-scoot pic.twitter.com/ONPrGx2Ear – 8:58 AM
I wrote about overthinking the Scoot Henderson sweepstakes, including a suggestion that (if he’s there at 3) the Blazers should just draft him AND keep Dame for now. ziller.substack.com/p/why-not-scoot pic.twitter.com/ONPrGx2Ear – 8:58 AM
Kelly Iko @KellyIko
Thinking out loud here but the closer the draft gets, why would Portland trade No. 3? The odds of you getting a return that really helps Dame and puts Portland in “getting out of the 1st round” territory are slim. Take the best player available, move Dame to a contender – 8:31 PM
Thinking out loud here but the closer the draft gets, why would Portland trade No. 3? The odds of you getting a return that really helps Dame and puts Portland in “getting out of the 1st round” territory are slim. Take the best player available, move Dame to a contender – 8:31 PM
More on this storyline
Clutch Points: “I get to a point where I’m so sad when I see him at times. I think that he is one of the great, great players this game has ever seen… I just want him out of Portland so bad.” Stephen A. Smith on Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard pic.twitter.com/igAyv9o7dE -via Twitter @ClutchPointsApp / June 7, 2023
NBA Central: Damian Lillard says Miami is ‘obviously’ his first choice over Boston, New York and Brooklyn in a hypothetical trade “Bam is my dawg” (Via @Showtime ) pic.twitter.com/9XhBZq3kIp -via Twitter @TheNBACentral / June 7, 2023
NBACentral: Damian Lillard: “Brooklyn is another obvious one because Mikal Bridges is my dawg too” (Via @Showtime ) -via Twitter @TheNBACentral / June 7, 2023
CJ McCollum: Sick conversation 😂 heard it goes down like almond milk 😂 -via Twitter @CJMcCollum / May 31, 2023
But after another injury-plagued season, the Pelicans were trounced out early in the Play-In with Williamson unable to suit up at all. Few understand his full potential like CJ McCollum, one of his vets in New Orleans and current president of the NBPA. That’s why McCollum has had “serious conversations” with Zion about being the only man stopping him from his own greatness, as he shared on a recent appearance on the Ryen Russillo podcast: “I’ve had serious conversations with him on multiple occasions,” said CJ McCollum. “Not just me, Larry [Nance Jr.]. I’ve told him, ‘You can be as good as you wanna be, and that’s not for everybody. … The level of the best version of [Zion Williamson] is a level that everybody can’t get to.” -via Clutch Points / May 29, 2023
In his first four seasons with the Pelicans, Zion Williamson has played in just 114 games. That’s not even a season and a half worth of on-court action. What’s made his career so frustrating thus far is that in those games he was one of the most dominant players in the league right off the bat. “Your ceiling is unlike anything the NBA has ever seen,” McCollum claims he told Williamson. “But it’s up to you to take full advantage of whatever that is. I can’t want it for you. Mom can’t want it to you. Dad can’t want it to you. Staff can’t want it to you. So it’s up to you to decide what that looks like. … You’ve got to figure out what you want to do with this game, because this game will go where you take it.” -via Clutch Points / May 29, 2023