The Toronto Raptors went from the periphery of the Damian Lillard trade sweepstakes to the front of the line. Amid reports that the Portland Trail Blazers aren’t exactly keen on trading with the Miami Heat (Lillard’s stated preferred destination), the Raptors could try to steal him away at the last minute.
Per Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports, the Raptors and Chicago Bulls are the two teams most connected to Lillard in league circles. With the Heat buzz fading away, Toronto is positioning itself well. Fans just need to hope the return to Portland isn’t outrageous.
The Raptors will try everything humanly possible to hold on to both Scottie Barnes and Pascal Siakam. Fans worried about the Lillard trade bankrupting this franchise should breathe a sigh of relief based on the latest news.
According to Fischer, neither Barnes nor Siakam are being considered in trade packages for Lillard. If Ujiri can land Lillard without giving up either Barnes or Siakam in trade talks, the fanbase should roar in unequivocal approval of his negotiation work with Portland.
Here's our latest rumblings on Damian Lillard, James Harden, Portland's overall trade efforts, Toronto, Chicago, Miami, Phoenix and more @YahooSports: https://t.co/qWT2cYvBEu
— Jake Fischer (@JakeLFischer) September 22, 2023
NBA rumors: Raptors’ Scottie Barnes, Pascal Siakam won’t be traded for Damian Lillard.
This leaves OG Anunoby, an All-Defensive team wing with one year left on his contract, as the most likely piece to move to Portland in exchange for Lillard. Fischer also mentions that top pick Gradey Dick could be on the move in the same way the Cavaliers traded Ochai Agbaji in the Donovan Mitchell heist.
If the Blazers want to win without Lillard, a lineup that features much-heralded rookie Scoot Henderson in the backcourt alongside Anfernee Simons, Anunoby and Jerami Grant at the forward spots, and a center like Jusuf Nurkic could be very interesting. Dick and Shaedon Sharpe coming off the bench would be hard to stop.
Meanwhile, Toronto would get a superstar who is still playing some of the best basketball of his career to add some spacing and half-court juice. Lillard at the tip of the spear with Siakam in a secondary role and Barnes coming into his own would give Darko Rajakovic a ton to work with.
The Raptors likely won’t be thrilled about the fact that much of their young assets would be sent over to Portland to complete this hypothetical deal. Still, the chance to add a player like Lillard without giving up the stars of this team is a very rare opportunity.