A Mock Damian Lillard-to-Jazz Trade Goes Viral on NBA Twitter

Is this a deal the Utah Jazz should consider after the season?

There has long been a discussion among NBA fans as to whether Damian Lillard of the Portland Trail Blazers should remain loyal to the franchise that drafted him 11 years ago. With seven games left in the season, the Blazers have shut Dame down after falling out of playoff contention. 

After a second straight year of missing the playoffs, the Blazers and Dame have come to somewhat of a crossroads. The 33-year-old guard is past his prime, and although he has always been committed to the Blazers, he has said he will not be on board with being involved in a rebuild, but championship contention is unrealistic for the remainder of Dame’s career, so a rebuild makes sense for the Portland.

Dame is under contract until 2025, but with $91,280,168 remaining on the books, it might be hard for the Blazers to find a suitor that is not only willing to absorb that contract but also give up the assets that the aging superstar will surely command via trade.

This is where the Utah Jazz come into the picture. After the Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell trades, the Jazz are sitting on a huge pile of future and current assets, with $40 million in salary-cap space next year. The Jazz surely have the package that could, in theory, get a Dame-to-Utah deal done. 

Lillard has always been proud of his roots coming from Weber State University, the small school 30 minutes north of Vivint Arena, and he has mentioned the Jazz as a place he would want to go to if the Blazers didn’t work out. This type of deal seems like it has all the legs to give both teams what they need, but does it make sense for the Jazz?

This is purely conjecture, but a recent mock trade of a three-way deal blew through NBA Twitter, sending Dame to Utah and the Jazz sending out three first-round draft picks, along with Collin Sexton, Kelly Olynyk, and Rudy Gay.

This trade almost makes too much sense.

Jazz trade Sexton, Olynyk, Gay, 2 unprotected firsts, one top 8 protected first, and a swap for Dame to jump into contention.

Knicks get rid of Mitchell Robinson along with Obi for Gay and Nurkic.

Spurs get a great young guard. https://t.co/OCCwgLnT9G pic.twitter.com/e4fAAzq8iL

— NBA Mock Trades (@nbamocktrade) March 27, 2023

This deal seems like it makes sense, but the Jazz, unlike the Blazers, are in full rebuild mode and were lucky enough to see the emergence of Lauri Markkanen and Walker Kessler this year. Is that enough to give the Jazz a chance at contention with the short window left in Lillard's contract? 

The consensus seems to be no. Lillard is still a superstar and is considered one of the best point guards in the league after Steph Curry. The Jazz would get a point guard they desperately need and a great one at that, but this move alone wouldn’t give them the chance they will be waiting for.

Simply put, this proposed deal doesn’t make sense for the Jazz because it doesn’t fit the window that the team has with all its assets. This might seem like something Jazz fans want right now, but Danny Ainge and the front office have an opportunity to build something greater than a two-year window with Dame. 

There will surely be a deal to be made in the future that will help the Jazz make the next step, but this one is not it.

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