Stephen A. Smith Begs Damian Lillard To Leave Portland Amid Trade Rumors

Damian Lillard

Getty Image / James Gilbert


Trade rumors are flying all over the place right now since Damian Lillard named two teams he’d be interested to play for.

As of now though, he remains with the Portland Trail Blazers and it’s not clear what the franchise plans to do this offseason.

Even so, Stephen A. Smith might want Lillard out of Portland more than anyone in the world after going on an almost four minute rant about it on First Take.

Smith has been adamant about wanting the Trail Blazers to trade Damian Lillard to the New York Knicks. But now it seems that Stephen A. Smith would simply be happy with Lillard leaving Portland.

Here’s the full clip of Smith going off while Lillard’s former teammate CJ McCollum laughs through the segment.

Stephen A. Smith was so fired up there were moments he wasn’t even speaking english. Just straight up gibberish.

But it’s hard to disagree with him on this subject. Big name free agents just don’t have any interest signing with the Trail Blazers.

The front office has to build through the draft and they haven’t been able to bring a Championship home to Portland since the late 1970s.

At the same time, it’s not like Lillard is getting any younger. He’s in the prime of his career and could put himself in position to finally win a ring by finding a new team.

On top of that, the Trail Blazers would receive a haul if they opted to trade Damian Lillard. So, a rebuild could be exactly what this team needs.

As of now, the only clear thing is that the Blazers have plenty of options on the table. With the offseason quickly approaching, we should see what path the organization takes soon.