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Damian Lillard Crosses Lakers Off His List Due To Coaching Staff Decision

The long-rumored LA target criticized the team's management of a well-known former Laker.

Matt Wagner

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Damian Lillard is in the middle of another offseason.

Lillard and the Portland Trail Blazers again missed the postseason, despite the all star point guard's best efforts before he was benched in an attempt to try to improve their draft position.

It somewhat worked out for Portland as they jumped higher than their projections to grab the No. 3 pick, even if they lost out on the Victor Wembenyama sweepstakes.

But for Damian Lillard, another season that ended well short of contention is leading to more spectulation on whether or not the longtime Blazer may find his way out of Portland sooner rather that later.

Lillard even floated a specific destination, saying that Miami would be a quality landing spot.

But beyond that, he's also been a long-rumored target of the Lakers front office. The 32-year-old also confirmed a Chris Haynes report that he would not be joining a longtime Lakers rival, in a statement that's sure to put him in LA fans' good graces.

As for other Lillard/Lakers news though, he recently criticized how the Lakers managed former point guard Russell Westbrook.

This year was a rocky year for Westbrook, as he began the year in the starting five, was moved to the bench, flourished for a time, but ultimately found himself traded to the Jazz before ending up on the Clippers.

Lillard wasn't pleased with how things were handed, as he made abundantly clear to Brian Custer during an appearance on Showtime Sports' The Last Stand.

Now, this might not mean much as far as the Lakers' chances of landing Lillard at some point, but he definitely didn't appreciate how the event went down.

We'll see what happens with Lillard and his future, but if he were to come to LA within the next couple of years, he would surely be a focal point of the Lakers offense.

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Matt Wagner
MATT WAGNER

Matt Wagner was born and raised in southern California, and he lived there before moving to Colorado and getting his B.A. in Communications from the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs in 2022. He relocated back to southern California in 2023 and is looking forward to covering the teams that mean so much to his home area. Some of his past work is in Bleacher Report, Dodgers Tailgate, and, most recently, Colorado Buffaloes Wire. Aside from writing, you can probably catch him petting the nearest dog or eating some good Mexican food.

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