Damian Lillard would prefer Knicks, his camp wants Sixers consideration
As the Philadelphia 76ers continue with their season, they still have to figure out what to do with the Ben Simmons situation as it continues to grow and cast a black cloud of their team. In order to move him, the Sixers need a star player of equal value.
That is where the Portland Trail Blazers could possibly become a factor. The Blazers are in a bit of disarray at 11-13 and they just fired general manager Neil Olshey that could possibly signal a reset button for the Blazers.
This could all make star guard Damian Lillard available and he is the one who president Daryl Morey and the Sixers have been waiting on. Philadelphia has decided to remain patient on the Simmons front hoping that Lillard would shake free and if he does, then the Sixers will come swooping in for a big offer to pair him with Joel Embiid.
However, it appears that Lillard prefers to go to the New York Knicks if he were to request a trade. He wants to be the guy in a huge market.
Per ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith:
If Damian Lillard doesn’t want to stay, and he does want to stay in Portland, if you talk to him, his whole thing is I want to be here, this is where I want to be, this where I want to retire. The only thing that would really really tickle him and make him entertain wanting to leave Portland, believe it or not, is going to the New York. There are people in his camp that would like to convince him to give Philadelphia stronger consideration, but when he thinks about the New York Knicks, he thinks about going to the top market in the country thinks about, obviously, marketability, he might not be thinking about that, but his team might be thinking about that, but Damian Lillard knows that if he were in the Mecca, it would be far easier for him to recruit teammates to want to come and play with him, as opposed to him being in the Pacific Northwest. The New York Knicks would be his number one preference, not the Lakers, not the Brooklyn Nets, not the Philadelphia 76ers.
The Sixers would have the most to offer in Simmons as he is still a 25-year old 3-time All-Star who does everything at an elite level other than shooting. While Lillard would maybe prefer the Knicks, he does have to realize that the Sixers offer him a better chance at winning a title.
A duo of Lillard and Embiid would be pretty tough to stop. Especially in the pick-and-roll where Lillard’s long range shooting would be a big help to Embiid’s elite post play.
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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