Every offseason it feels like the Los Angeles Lakers are being brought up as potential landing spots for big-name players. That especially is the case after the team has a disappointing finish to the season such as this year’s first-round exit and the biggest name being brought up this offseason is Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard.
Lillard has been mentioned as a potential player who could be on the move after some apparent offseason issues with the Blazers. Obviously any team would love to have a player of Lillard’s caliber on the roster and fans are already trying to figure out how their team can acquire him.
Lakers fans are no different and there are few bigger than hip-hop icon and Big 3 owner Ice Cube. He recently appeared on Stephen A’s World with ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith and made his pitch to Lillard to join the Lakers:
“If he wants a championship he should come join the Lakers. You know if he wants to just score a lot of points and be the man, stay in Portland. But come win a championship, you deserve it. He’s given a lot to that city, so give some of that love to the LA Lakers man.”
Lillard joining LeBron James and Anthony Davis would be an amazing accomplishment for the Lakers, but the possibility of that happening would seem to be unlikely. Lillard’s max contract extension is set to begin and he will be worth nearly $40 million. The Lakers finding a combination of contracts and draft picks will be difficult, especially as the team is still down a number of picks due to the Davis trade.
There is also the case of whether Lillard truly wants to leave Portland. The likes of Ice Cube may want him to leave, but Lillard has spoken about the rumors, saying that anything he wants to say he will say directly to the team while insinuating that words have been put into his mouth.
Lillard’s name will continue to be mentioned throughout the offseason, and if there is a chance he is unhappy, fans like Ice Cube will always look to try and convince him to come to their favorite team, regardless of the odds of it happening.
Damian Lillard, LeBron James dap each other at WNBA game
Adding fuel to the fire of Lillard possibly joining the Lakers was something that happened at a recent WNBA game in which the Blazers star and James were in attendance. The fact that both were in attendance was enough to set alarms off and the image of the two superstars dapping each other up led many to wonder if there was something more there.
In all likelihood, this was simply a matter of two NBA stars attending a WNBA game which many do, but the timing of this couldn’t have been more perfect to kick up the rumor mill.
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