Damian Lillard trade rumors have been the hottest topic in the NBA this offseason and despite trading for a third star in Russell Westbrook and adding several solid free agents around the big three, there is still speculation around Lillard joining the Los Angeles Lakers.
It is safe to say that most fans gave up on the idea of the Lakers acquiring Lillard after the Westbrook trade. However, a somewhat cryptic tweet from Lillard has reignited that Dame to LA flame.
Lillard’s three-word response to someone saying that he would still end up on the Lakers sent basketball Twitter into a frenzy.
Bet a Million. https://t.co/CloZY3Iq4c
— Damian Lillard (@Dame_Lillard) August 12, 2021
While we are definitely guilty of writing articles about tweets that the Lakers have made (mostly Kyle Kuzma), this is a classic case of the internet running with something that has literally no legs.
Lillard knows what he is doing and he is gaming the system. Quite frankly, I would not be shocked if Lillard is getting a big laugh out of this entire situation, because the reaction to this three-word tweet has been pretty monumental.
No. The Los Angeles Lakers are not trading for Damian Lillard.
This is not Damian Lillard hinting that he wants to be traded to the Lakers. This can be chalked up in one word: sarcasm. Yet still, I have seen several fans wracking their brains on how Lillard can still become a Laker and there is only one real answer: trading Anthony Davis.
Spoiler alert: the Los Angeles Lakers are not going to trade Anthony Davis for Damian Lillard nor should they. Davis is a better player than Lillard and the Lakers would be the team to hang up if Portland asked them for this trade.
The team has absolutely no assets to trade for Lillard outside of a superstar swap. No, Portland is not going to take a package of Westbrook and picks for Lillard. Westbrook’s contract is terrible and that would be a horrendous deal for Portland to make.
Damian Lillard is just poking fun at NBA fans, and in particular, Laker fans that still have this pipe dream that the team is going to trade for him. As awesome as it would be, it is not even close to being a possibility. Lillard knows that, hence why he is telling that fan to bet a million; to make a fool out of themselves.
Sorry to burst any bubbles.