NBA Rumors: Blazers Superstar Could Follow Harden Move; Chaotic Free Agency Expected

KEY POINTS

Damian Lillard is reportedly willing to sit out if he will not be traded by the Blazers
The Blazers need to take in quality players to appease Lillard's demands
Lillard could use the "James Harden strategy" to force the hand of Portland to trade him

Damian Lillard remains a vital cog for the Portland Trail Blazers, but there have been rumors swirling of him wanting to be traded.

A new source has suggested that the 6-time All-Star is now ready to sit out the season if the Blazers fail to find a way to improve the roster before opening night, per the report of Henry Abbott of TrueHoop.

It would be a similar tactic that James Harden used then with the Houston Rockets before he was eventually dealt with the Brooklyn Nets.

Right now, there is no telling what Blazers management can do to appease the 2013 NBA Rookie of the Year.

Lillard is currently at the Tokyo Olympics with USA Basketball with hopes of clinching another gold.

Aside from potential free agents that may be added, there is also the question of the new head coach.

Chauncey Billups replaced Terry Stotts at the helm, a move that was hardly a concern for Lillard. However, he doesn’t see how the team could be a championship team by simply changing coaches.

There are a lot of names available in free agency such as Kyle Lowry, DeMar DeRozan, Victor Oladipo and Cameron Payne.

But getting any of them into Portland does not guarantee an NBA title. Hence, a plausible move for the 6-foot-2 guard is to join a team that is built to win next season.

Not all are convinced that Lillard would go to the extreme and lose big money just to get traded.

As mentioned in a previous post, he remains undecided on what is next for him.

All he knows is that his heart is set on remaining with the Trail Blazers for his entire career. However, that may come with limits.

The upcoming offseason is expected to be wild. IMG Director Dan Barto weighed in on it when he appeared on the Sports For All PH podcast hosted by Filipino journalists Vincent Juico and Brian Yalung.

“I think we are leading into maybe the absolute craziest offseason we have ever seen. I expect absolute mayhem and craziness of the draft all the way to free agency,” Barto stated.

“I think we will see the most demanded trades in the history of the NBA with most people threatening to sit out, those people unhappy, people will walk away, buying out, people willing to walk away from contracts because of the current state of what is happening."