The Portland Trail Blazers have been one of the most talked-about teams during the first couple of weeks of the NBA off-season. There have been lingering questions surrounding the future of Damian Lillard, and the team was in the spotlight while carrying the 3rd overall pick in last week’s draft. Recently, trade rumors sending Lillard to Miami have been heating up, especially after Jimmy Butler added fuel to the fire with his recent Instagram post.
Perkins: Blazers Should Be More Like Kings And Heat
“I’m challenging Chauncey Billups and Damian Lillard to gather the troops and go out there and do what the Kings and Heat did… Put the world on notice.” @KendrickPerkins wants to see the Trail Blazers take a page from Sacramento and Miami’s book 👀pic.twitter.com/AGiN5qs6kn
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) June 27, 2023
That talk has continued well past the conclusion of the draft now that Lillard remains on the roster. It was thought that the team would make a decision on his future ahead of the selection process, and he was still there when the Blazers selected Scoot Henderson with their pick.
While he hasn’t come out and said anything officially, there are (as usual) conflicting reports regarding his feelings. Lillard has been rumored to both want out of Portland and rumored to want to stay and play it out, and he apparently had a meeting with the team’s general manager and front office on Monday.
It feels as though the Portland Trail Blazers are as confused about what they want to do as much as anybody is. The entire situation feels messy and drawn out, and the organization looks unorganized in their decision-making.
Portland Doesn’t Need Another Star – Perkins
Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard and his agent Aaron Goodwin are meeting with the team today to discuss the franchise’s direction, league sources tell @NBAonTNT, @BleacherReport. pic.twitter.com/mUgEDzEbsw
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) June 26, 2023
ESPN’s Kendrick Perkins talked about the situation this morning.
“It was two teams that put the world on notice last year. One of them was the Sacramento Kings…You had Mike Brown develop their culture. When I look at the Portland Trail Blazers, its not a big leap. They’re on the same level as the Sacramento Kings when you look at it from a talent basis.”
Perkins is citing the fact that the Kings didn’t need to go out and swing for the fences with a big free agent or trade acquisition (unless he is forgetting about Domantas Sabonis two years ago). All that needs to be done in the instillation of belief in the players that they can get the job done.
He goes on to talk about the Miami Heat as well, and what they were able to accomplish with the limited pieces that they had on their roster.
“It don’t matter if you’re a household name. It don’t matter if you have another all-star caliber player alongside of you. Can you get your organization and culture right that they believe in themselves and each other so that you can make a run in the postseason.”
Free agency is set to kick off this Friday.
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