Rumor: Trail Blazers looking to trade No. 7 pick to build around Damian Lillard
After landing the No. 7 overall pick in the 2022 NBA draft, the Portland Trail Blazers could look to trade out of that spot, according to John Hollinger and Sam Vecenie of The Athletic.
The Trail Blazers had a down 2021-22 season with Damian Lillard missing most of it due to injury. The team made a few trades in an effort to look ahead and build around Lillard and Anfernee Simons and now the front office could once again be busy.
With Lillard expected to be back at full strength next season, the organization will be active in trying to improve the roster to compete for a playoff berth. The team has some assets to use at its disposal as the seventh pick is expected to be in play, according to the report.
The pick that seems even more certain to be on the move is Portland’s at No. 7, with sources saying the Blazers will push to immediately put a competitive team around Damian Lillard rather than start over. Detroit’s Jerami Grant has been the hot name here, but the Blazers could look at other options.
The Trail Blazers believe they have two foundational pieces in Lillard and Simons with other young talents in Nassir Little and Keon Johnson they can compete with. They will certainly try to leverage the seventh pick to acquire players that can help them win now.
What a trade package involving the seventh pick can return, is, of course, another question.
However, it appears as though Portland will be very active in discussions ahead of the draft on June 23. There are several teams in the midst of rebuilds that have veterans they could part ways with and Portland will certainly be in contact with them.
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