KEY POINTS

  • The Portland Trail Blazers are expected to exert all effort to keep Damian Lillard
  • The Blazers also need to address the head coach position in the offseason
  • CJ McCollum is expected to draw interest from different teams as well

The Portland Trail Blazers will have a lot of things to do in the NBA offseason, but the priority is keeping their stars.

After a disastrous NBA playoff run, the buzz going around is that there may be some stars such as Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum jumping ship.

However, that does not appear to be the case with Blazers general manager allegedly hinting that trading Lillard is not among their moves, CNBC reported.

But then again, that could all change in a snap if the six-time All-Star and his agent Aaron Goodwin get a tempting offer elsewhere.

Hence, the Blazers will need to prove to Lillard that they are committed and rebuild their way back to success.

It all starts by getting a new head coach with the name of Jason Kidd being mentioned as a successor to former coach Terry Stotts.

The 63-year-old coach and the Blazers agreed to mutually part ways following their fourth first-round playoff exit in five seasons, ESPN reported.

Regardless, Stotts leaves the team as the second-winningest coach that included eight consecutive playoff appearances.

Kidd would be a curious replacement, but the 48-year-old who served as an assistant coach to the Los Angeles Lakers this NBA season has taken his name out of the mix.

Kidd commented on the endorsement of Lillard when he spoke to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

With Kidd out, the list of potential replacements to Stotts has now be trimmed down to Chauncey Billups, Jeff Van Gundy, Mike D’Antoni and Juwan Howard.

Damian Lillard #0 of the Portland Trail Blazers
Damian Lillard #0 of the Portland Trail Blazers Getty Images | Steph Chambers

Aside from Lillard, there is also the status of CJ McCollum. He is another player likely to frequent the NBA trade rumor mill with the Cleveland Cavaliers and San Antonio Spurs linked to the 29-year-old guard.

Beyond that, teams like the New York Knicks, Miami Heat, or even the Los Angeles Clippers could be interesting landing spots this offseason.

Regardless of the turmoil that the Trail Blazers are in right now, expect team management to get their act together and do all means necessary to retain the duo.

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