The Boston Celtics and Portland Trail Blazers both are two teams who had high aspirations for the 2020-21 season but ended up getting eliminated in the opening round of the NBA playoffs. Now, each organization faces tough decisions to make.
Changes already have occurred for the Celtics. Danny Ainge decided to step down from being the President of Basketball Operations and in shocking fashion, former head coach Brad Stevens is replacing Ainge in the lead front office role. Boston now is searching for its next coach.
READ MORE: NBA Rumors: This Blazers-Warriors trade is centered on CJ McCollum to Golden State
The Celtics need far more change than just within the leadership of the organization. While Jaylen Brown was sidelined for the NBA playoffs, Jayson Tatum did not have nearly enough help and Boston was comfortably defeated by the Brooklyn Nets as it ended in a 4-1 series defeat.
Meanwhile, the Trail Blazers had an underwhelming end to their first-round series with the Denver Nuggets. After squandering Damian Lillard’s 55-point outing in the team’s 2OT loss in Game 5, Portland was eliminated with a Game 6 defeat and are now back to the drawing board.
Will Lillard decide at some point that he values winning over his blind loyalty to staying with one organization? The Trail Blazers simply lack the resources to be able to build a legitimate contender around him. At this point, seeking to play elsewhere appears to be the only answer if he were to desire contending.
With that being said, let’s take a look at an NBA trade scenario by Bleacher Report’s Greg Swartz centered around Damian Lillard that involves the Boston Celtics and Portland Trail Blazers.
