NBA Rumors: San Antonio Spurs Move to Sign Damian Lillard Trade; Kawhi Leonard, LaMarcus Aldridge Push for Trailblazers Deal

By Mitch de Leon
NBA: Portland Trail Blazers at Golden State Warriors
Mar 11, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard (0) reacts after being called for a foul against Golden State Warriors forward Andre Iguodala (9) during the third quarter at Oracle Arena. The Golden State Warriors defeated the Portland Trail Blazers 128-112.  Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

The San Antonio Spurs are out to get their dominance in the Western Conference back. With Pau Gasol fresh off the Chicago Bulls now joining Kawhi Leonard, Patty Mills, and Danny Green take on the league's best teams, it looks like Gregg Popovich still has more players to add in the lineup. One surprising name comes up - the same name that had been linked to the then newly minted teammate LaMarcus Aldridge - and it's none other than Damian Lillard.

The Damian Lillard trade talks have started early this NBA season especially in light of the disappointing performance of the Portland Trail Blazers. Although fans of the CJ Collum squad hoped to see their leader turn the exit of LaMarcus Aldridge the same way Russell Westbrook sought vengeance following the Kevin Durant free agency drama, it seems that time is no longer on their side. With another season seeing the Portland Trail Blazers struggle to become serious title contenders, the speculations over a Damian Lillard trade become more rampant than ever.

"We kind of suck right now," said Damian Lillard in an earlier interview regarding the performance of the Portland Trail Blazers. He further shared, "We're usually a pretty good offensive team, we've been bad on offense and bad on defense. We're trying hard but we're not always making the smartest plays, sometimes letting the offensive end effect the defensive end. It's not good enough. We're not very good right now."

The Portland Trail Blazers star went on to say, "I know we're going to be fine, but it's just frustrating for us to be doing the same things, hurting ourselves in the same ways, for all of us, myself included. We try hard as a group, we've just got to be better. We've got to stay with it."

Rumors are rife that the San Antonio Spurs seem to be an attractive destination for a clearly frustrated Damian Lillard. Speculations point to a possible reunion of the Portland Trail Blazers star with former teammate LaMarcus Aldridge. With the two together alongside Kawhi Leonard, Danny Green, Manu Ginobili and Pau Gasol, the San Antonio Spurs could be the next super team in the NBA. For their part, it appears that Gregg Popovich and his team could also use a Damian Lillard trade to help them with their plays.

"It's taking us a while to get into the rhythm, the aggressiveness we need to get leads," admitted Manu Ginobili of the performance of the San Antonio Spurs. He added, "So yeah, we're not playing well. But the good thing is that meanwhile, we are getting wins, and we are maintaining a good record. We have an 80 percent winning percentage, and we don't feel like we are playing that well."

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