NBA Rumors: Why Shutting Down Damian Lillard Is Best For Blazers

The Portland Trail Blazers are facing a lost season ahead, and it may be best for them to consider shutting down six-time All-Star Damian Lillard as soon as possible.

Jay Allen of Rip City Radio 360 reported on the possibility of Lillard being put on the shelf for an extended period of time.

“[Head coach Chauncey] Billups says there will be a meeting "soon" to talk about Damian Lillard's abdominal injury and how it'll be handled going forward,” wrote Allen on Twitter.

The sweet-shooting point guard has been dealing with abdominal tendinopathy for much of this season, the same injury that hampered him throughout last season as well.

Lillard had been taking cortisone injections in order to help mitigate the pain in his abdomen area, but with the prospects of a playoff run bleak, it may be smarter for the Blazers to rest their All-Star.

Injuries have wracked the Blazers this season with multiple players going in and out of the health and safety protocols for COVID-19 while Lillard’s running mate CJ McCollum missing a ton of games due to a collapsed lung that he suffered in early December.

McCollum is yet to make his return to the court despite reports that he had fully recovered from his condition, which may indicate that the Blazers are going all-in for the tank in their remaining games.

Without their two leaders, backup point guard Anfernee Simons has been forced into a leadership role as the Blazers’ primary playmaker.

Simons took the challenge particularly well in their win against the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday, January 4 by scoring a career-high 43 points on 61.9 percent field goal shooting.

Though it is next to impossible for him to repeat such a feat this season, the Blazers have everything to gain by getting Simons and their bench as much experience as possible.

The situation is less than ideal for Lillard whose championship window is slowly closing as he turns 32 years old on July 15, but the harsh reality is that tanking for a high pick may be their next best bet.

The 2022 NBA draft class is shaping up to be heavy on centers and power forwards, which may encourage the Blazers to make a deal of trading McCollum for another fringe All-Star and picks.

Should the Blazers decide to go for the tank, they could feasibly target G League Ignite shooting guard Jaden Hardy, Serbian power forward Nikola Jovic or hope for the best that 7-foot-2 Victor Wembanyama declares for the draft.