Is Damian Lillard coming to the Brooklyn Nets?
By: Roston Willingham
There has been some buzz about Damian Lillard coming to the Brooklyn Nets, and it sounds like he does not want to be with the Portland Trail Blazers anymore. Since Damian is not a free agent this summer the Nets would have to trade for him. The Nets trade idea is Ben Simmons, Spencer Dinwiddie, Cameron Thomas, and Day'Ron Sharpe for Damian Lillard and Jusuf Nurkić who is a center for the Blazers. Nets fans are waiting to see if Dame wants to come to Brooklyn
Damian In Portland
Damian Lillard has been with the Blazers since 2012 and has averaged a career 25.2 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 6.7 assists per game. Lillard was the number 6 pick in the 2012 draft from Weber State university in Utah. He is 6' 2" and was drafted as a point guard. In the 2012–2013 season he led the Blazers in scoring averaging 19.0 points per game, and won ROTY ( Rookie of the year) and made the NBA ALL-Rookie Team. Even with all of this success the Blazers did not make the playoffs.
In the 2013–2014 season the Blazers made the playoffs and Dame was averaging 20 points a game in the season. In game 7 of the playoffs there was a famous buzzer beater Dame hit. The final score of that game was Trailblazers 99 Rockets 98. This would send them to the second round. Then the Blazers lost in the second round to the San Antonio Spurs, 4 games to 1. That year Dame made the ALL NBA- Third Team.
In the 2014–2015 season the Blazers finished 4th in the Western Conference and then lost in the first round of the playoffs to the Memphis Grizzlies 4 games to 1. In the 2015–2016 season they finished 44–38 and lost in the Western Semifinals to the Warriors. That year Dame was made the All NBA-Second Team. For the next two seasons the Blazers were the same and the duo was Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum who was the team’s shooting guard. In the 2018–2019 season the Blazers made it all the way to the western conference finals and in the first round Dame hit a 37 foot buzzer beater to send the Oklahoma City Thunder home.
In the 2019–2020 season the Blazers finished 35–39 and lost in the first round playoffs to the Lakers. In the 2020–2021 season they lost in the first round of the playoffs to the Denver Nuggets. Over the past two years the Blazers have missed the playoffs. In 2022 they got the number 7 draft pick and picked Shaedon Sharpe. On May 16 2023 the Blazers got the number 3 draft pick after finishing 33–49.
The Nets Over The Past Four Years
Before the Nets were in Brooklyn, they were in New Jersey from 1977–2012. In the past five years there have been some ups and downs. There was the big 3 with Kevin Durant, James Harden, and Kyrie Irving. Then there was a falling-out with them in the past 2 seasons. Now the big 3 in Brooklyn is Mikal Bridges, Spencer Dinwiddie, and Cameron Johnson.
In the 2019–2020 season the Nets finished 35–37 and were 7th in the league, they lost in the first round of the playoffs to the Toronto Raptors (4–0). That season one only of the big three played and it was Kyrie Irving. He was averaging 27 points a game and behind him was Spencer Dinwiddie averaging 20 points a game. The coach was Kenny Atkinson who finished 28–34, the other games were coached by Jacque Vaughan whose record was 7–3.
The next season the Nets were 48–24 and made it to the second round of the playoffs but lost to the bucks who eventually won the NBA finals. The reason they improved was because they had the big 3 and they fired Kenny Atkinson and hired Steve Nash. In the regular season Kevin and Kyrie tied for the most points per game at 26. That season Kyrie made the All NBA-Third Team.
In the 2021–2022 season the nets were 44–38 and the leading scorer was Kevin Durant averaging 29 points a game. Then the Nets ran into some problems. At the trade deadline the Nets traded James Harden to the Philadelphia 76ers for Ben Simmons, Seth Curry, and Andre Drummond. This trade changed the Nets in several ways. First they lost their third best player which had a negative impact on the team. Then they added more height to there roster which had a positive impact. After these changes they still lost in the first round of the playoffs to the Boston Celtics (4–0).
Now in the most recent season the Nets were 45–37 and lost in the first round to the Philadelphia 76ers. In the beginning of the season the nets went 2–5 and fired their head coach Steve Nash and hired Jacque Vaughn. Even more problems hit the Nets when Kyrie Irving requested a trade and they traded him to the Dallas Mavericks for Spencer Dinwiddie who would be retuning to the Nets, Dorian Finny-Smith, and draft picks. Then Kevin Durant who had recently injured his MCL requested a trade too and was traded to the Phoenix Suns for Mikal Bridges, Cameron Johnson, Jae Crowder, and draft picks. Then the Nets traded Jae crowder to the Milwaukee Bucks for draft picks. Now the Nets are a decent team with no all stars but are getting better.
How Dame Can Help Brooklyn
There are a lot of ways Damian can help in Brooklyn. He can help them get further into the playoffs than in recent years. He can also encourage them to try to sign players or trade for players. In recent years the Nets point guards were pretty good except for this past season when a guy that is 6 foot 10 was at that position. That person is Ben Simmons.
Dame is a great point guard and has helped the Blazers in the past years, now he needs to help Brooklyn do well. He could be a duo with Mikal Bridges, and work with Nic Claxton. Also, he could give advice to the rookies since he has been in the league since 2012. Damian also can give the fans a lot of entertainment since he can hit deep threes. He can communicate with the coaches too. Also, just as likely to take a game winning shot as he is to pass it to someone else because his style is that of a unselfish basketball player. His shooting and rebounding can help the Nets. He can lob a lot of shots to Dorian Finny-Smith and Nic Claxton. By trading KD ( Kevin Durant) and Kyrie the Nets saved money. Now, they can offer more money for Dame than Portland would.
My Opinion
In my opinion I think there is a good chance that Dame will come to Brooklyn. During the Nets-Sixers series he was sitting courtside in Brooklyn during game 3. I think he could really help the Nets all around and help them get deep into the playoffs. He would also make the Brooklyn community excited to see him by showing up at the practice at the bridge and being around the city.
Dame would excite the fans and make more people come to Nets games. He is also a good person and is nice to kids. In conclusion I think Dame can help the Nets in a big way and if he gets traded to the Nets that will be a good thing.
