NBA Rumors: 3 NBA teams who could tempt Timberwolves to trade KAT
By Bret Stuter
Team III: A veteran star to placate locker room rumblings
The Portland Trail Blazers are also facing a time bomb, that being the need to satisfy the fight-or-flight demands of start Damian Lillard. And those demands have escalated from a quiet request to an ultimatum.
Amidst all of the rumblings of how the Trail Blazers will address the glaring fork in the road this off-season, there is this simple choice. The Portland Trail Blazers must either trade star Damian Lillard and reassemble a new Portland Trail Blazers roster without him, or trade assets to acquire an elite NBA star who can help Lillard compete for an NBA Championship now, and simply roll the dice.
The Trail Blazers are caught in NBA limbo. With a player of Damian Lillard’s talent, the Trail Blazers will never be a team that tanks often enough to be in line for a top NBA Draft pick. But without a second or third NBA elite player, the Trail Blazers will never compete for an NBA Championship either.
Related Story. 5 Karl-Anthony Towns trades to rebalance Minnesota Timberwolves roster. light
Lillard’s had enough
That is what has frustrated Damian Lillard for so long. But speaking of Lillard, what is his take regarding his chances of playing for the Portland Trail Blazers in the 2023-24 NBA season?
Damian Lillard: "At the end of that same interview, he asked me ‘do you think you will be in a Trail Blazer uniform in October’ and I said yes I do." pic.twitter.com/QVNT0CNd7n
— League Alerts (@LeagueAlerts) June 9, 2023
Damian Lillard is a highly respected player for the Trail Blazers, so much so that the front office will do almost everything to build the team around him. Will that involve changing the landscape of the Portland Trail Blazers roster, and likely the geography of the NBA? Without a doubt, yes. Could that mean trading for Minnesota Timberwolves’ versatile big man Karl-Anthony Towns?
It has some logic to it.
We have already seen one trade scenario that involves the Trail Blazers acquiring KAT. We also know that the Timberwolves have met with a Top-5 rookie prospect in the 2023 NBA Draft. Is a draft-day deal pending? The clues suggest that is the case.