Is Lillards trade value going down?

[Blazers20]

If and a big if, what could the Blazers get for him if he was made available? Lottery pick or more?

[GeorgeMarcus]

If the Sixers can grab Lillard with a lottery pick, sign us up!

[Waynearchetype]

Why would his trade value go down? He is still having a career best year, despite the Blazers struggles. Pinning their problems on him and not the team composition seems rather shortsighted.

[GeorgeMarcus]

Is there anything besides POR's record that would lead you to believe his value is going down? I know McCollum is stepping it up but that doesn't really affect Dame's value- only the Blazers desire to keep him.

[UTJazzFan_Echo1]

Is there anything besides POR's record that would lead you to believe his value is going down? I know McCollum is stepping it up but that doesn't really affect Dame's value- only the Blazers desire to keep him.

I don't think his value is going down, but the glaring problem of his horrible defense has only become more apparent this year.

He's also not likely to make the all-star game... again. Whatever that's worth.

[DusterBuster]

This will end well.

[Golabki]

As a Celtics fan I'd say IT + bky 2017 + one of brown or the bky 2018 pick + salary filler.

Lilliard / horford high screen and role is fun/scary to imagine

[Jon1798]

Anything without the letters A and D in it are yours. That includes things like the Smoothie King Center and even King Cake Baby. Make us an offer.

[GeorgeMarcus]

Is there anything besides POR's record that would lead you to believe his value is going down? I know McCollum is stepping it up but that doesn't really affect Dame's value- only the Blazers desire to keep him.

I don't think his value is going down, but the glaring problem of his horrible defense has only become more apparent this year.

He's also not likely to make the all-star game... again. Whatever that's worth.

Embiid is doing a pretty good job of masking our weak defensive backcourt so far You're probably right about the all-star game, which is a travesty.

[basketballwacko2]

If and a big if, what could the Blazers get for him if he was made available? Lottery pick or more?

I would say that his value is not going down because the Blazers would be crazy to trade him. I'd want 3 quality #1 picks and decent players to match salary not over paid bums.

[Dr Positivity]

Maybe. Before the year I thought Lillard's potential to go from all-star to MVP contending type of player was underrated as he'd only played 4 seasons, Curry for example made massive strides in his career after a similar point in his career. However after this season I feel more confident in his ceiling being what it is

[Roy The Natural]

Maybe. Before the year I thought Lillard's potential to go from all-star to MVP contending type of player was underrated as he'd only played 4 seasons, Curry for example made massive strides in his career after a similar point in his career. However after this season I feel more confident that Lillard is at or nearing his ceiling

To be fair that ceiling is pretty great. He scores the 3rd most ppg on drives to the hoop... I think at some point he'll have a year where he shoots like 38% from 3 and continues finishing at the rim like he does now.

[dorkestra]

I think Portland should keep him, but if they wanted to trade him, they could get a lot more than a lottery pick IMO.

[Mich3006]

For me, Lillard is untouchable. If they want to aquire assets they should offer McCollum.

[GimmeDat]

He's a star. I don't see how he's even tradeable. If we're entertaining a reality where he's available and lower value, I'd happily offer the farm for him though - That would be Mirotic, Valentine, Portis, Kings 1st, Bulls 1st, 2018 1st, McDermott, Felicio etc. Better offers can obviously be had, though.

[Spens1]

still untouchable.

Would happily do a deal of Russell + Clarkson + Nance Jr, maybe up to Randle for him. He's still damn good and a franchise P.G no matter what way you put it.

[Soulyss]

Lillard defensive issues are actually overblown... if you look at the first two years with a better defensive line-up around him he was a net-even defender. Lillard does need different personnel around him to make him a decent defender, but frankly so does Curry, Kyrie, etc..

I don't think Lillards value has ever been higher. He's having a career year at career high efficiency. and unlike someone like Kyrie, Lillard is required to be the Alpha dog on the team which is its own burden. He's in the class of Harden, Westbrook, Paul, and Curry... but in all honesty 5th on that list.

[doctor him]

The Blazers problem obviously isn't Lillard. I relate them similar to what I said about the Warriors 4 and 5 years ago when they were running the Ellis - Curry backcourt. It was too small and too offensively focused for that team to ever be a threat. I said they needed to diversify some of their strength and find a way to effectively guard bigger 2's.

Warriors fans shouted me down, but lo' and behold. That's what they did and they won a title with Klay guarding the bigger 2's and Green stepping up to give them something from somewhere other than the backcourt.

I think Blazer fans are starting to figure it out, but either Dame or (much more likely) CJ will have to go. If they don't wait too long they'll be able to get something really good that they need. If they wait too long, well...I suggest they don't do that.

[CptCrunch]

I mean Lillard is still Lillard. He is still that volume scoring PG without good defense.

The unfortunate thing for him is that he isn't as good as Westbrook or Harden at carrying a team. So you can't fault him for not being a MVP calibur player. He is only 26 years old. Good second option, or option 1b for a team, but not the dude who will lead your team to the finals.

[Roy The Natural]

The Blazers problem obviously isn't Lillard. I relate them similar to what I said about the Warriors 4 and 5 years ago when they were running the Ellis - Curry backcourt. It was too small and too offensively focused for that team to ever be a threat. I said they needed to diversify some of their strength and find a way to effectively guard bigger 2's.

Warriors fans shouted me down, but lo' and behold. That's what they did and they won a title with Klay guarding the bigger 2's and Green stepping up to give them something from somewhere other than the backcourt.

I think Blazer fans are starting to figure it out, but either Dame or (much more likely) CJ will have to go. If they don't wait too long they'll be able to get something really good that they need. If they wait too long, well...I suggest they don't do that.

I think this is a little bit different though. First of all, Portland was middle of the pack defensively last year with the same backcourt, and the same personnel overall, I think they're capable of much more than they are now.

I don't like the comparison to the Curry/Ellis backcourt though.

#1 both Curry and Ellis were combo guards at the time and neither was capable of running an NBA offense.

#2 the Curry/Ellis backcourt was too small, but one of the main reasons their size was so damning was the era they played in. There was a metric ton of big 2 guards who could post up, as well as handle the ball... today there are almost none, especially in the western conference.

#3 Ellis was EASILY the worst player on this list, and was really overcast in his role as a starter. He was always going to be best use as a great sparkplug off the bench a la Jamal Crawford, and is quite useless without the ball in his hands.

Overall the Ellis/Curry pairing was never really a fair comparison. I think that this backcourt IS capable of existing in the current NBA, but one of the 2 HAS to improve defensively, or the surrounding cast needs to get better defensively. The Blazers need to pair a good defensive big with the backcourt to help them see if the backcourt is capable of being competetive.