The Philadelphia 76ers are looking to move on after another disappointing playoff finish when they fell in Game 7 at home in Round 2 of the postseason to the Atlanta Hawks. A finish like that with a team looking to win a title causes thoughts of making changes to the core.
The player that has been in a lot of trade talks recently has been All-Star guard Ben Simmons. The 24-year old has been very impactful on the floor in the regular season, but when the playoffs come around, he has a tough time stepping up to the challenge that the postseason calls for.
Therefore, it might be time to make a change at the point guard position. One name that stands out is Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard who, after nine seasons, may be looking for a way out of Rip City.
Per Chris Haynes of Yahoo! Sports, Lillard is unhappy with the way the coaching search went as the Blazers were getting set to hire 2004 Finals MVP Chauncey Billups as their new coach:
The enormous backlash from the Portland Trail Blazers’ process to hire a new coach and his concerns on whether a championship contender can be built have become factors that may push the franchise player — Damian Lillard — out the door, league sources told Yahoo Sports.
Lillard has remained loyal to Portland in large part due to the tremendous fan base. But over the last few days, he’s seen some of those same fans attacking him on social media for a pending coaching hire he played no part in consummating, sources said.
The Sixers should keep tabs on this situation and the two franchises could exchange All-Stars. Simmons is the type of player who could definitely use a change of scenery as things have not gone the way he or the franchise expected and his elite defensive play can help the Blazers in an area of the floor where they have struggled. For the Sixers, a duo of Lillard and Joel Embiid in Philadelphia opens up the team’s championship window just a bit wider.
The talk around any potential Portland and Philadelphia deal has been Simmons for C.J. McCollum, but if Lillard becomes available, Daryl Morey and the team should absolutely look into that. It is the type of trade that changes a lot of things for the franchise.
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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