Damian Lillard Appears All In on Blazers Shopping No. 3 Pick

It appears the Trail Blazers are willing to trade the No. 3 pick. But only if you give them something that would be considered a major splash in return.

“In discussions with teams in the last couple of days, the Blazers have started to maybe indicate that they won’t trade the No. 3 pick and that they may end up deciding to draft a player there, whether it be Scoot Henderson or Brandon Miller, because they aren’t necessarily in love with the options they’re getting offer for No. 3,” ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said on GetUp.

Windhorst added that while star guard Damian Lillard remains loyal to the Blazers, he does not want to be part of a rebuilding situation. It appears GM Joe Cronin knows all this, and is doing all he can to add veteran talent, as we relayed here.

“I checked in on the Lillard side of things about whether or not there’d been a change of heart there and I was told unequivocally, ‘No,’” Windhorst said. “Dame does not want a youth movement. He wants to play with veterans. He wants the team to upgrade fast and immediately with veteran players that can help him now.”

As Windhorst went on to note, there are other methods for the Blazers to land veteran talent beyond including the No. 3 pick in a deal. Portland guards Shaedon Sharpe and Anfernee Simons are highly coveted — especially Sharpe. But would that be enough to land a “win-now” star?

As an interesting aside, the Blazers and Pelicans have talked about New Orleans power forward Zion Williamson, per Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer. It doesn’t appear, though, that the sides are anywhere close on a trade.

The Blazers have also spoken to the Wizards and Knicks in recent days, sources told Hoops Wire.