With the Blazers exiting the playoffs early and mutually parting ways with coach Terry Stotts, speculation about the future of the franchise continues to swirl.
Rival teams are monitoring the Damian Lillard situation with the Trail Blazers in an effort to see if the star point guard may be made available, per Shams Charania and Jason Quick of The Athletic.
“Several NBA teams — including those in the top markets — are already intensely monitoring this situation in Portland,” the pair of scribes write while adding that some front offices around the league are preparing trade offers should the Blazers choose to listen.
Who will be Portland’s Next Coach?
Lillard said he’ll “miss’ Stotts as his coach and publicly declared his choice for Stott’s replacement.
“Jason Kidd is the guy I want,” Lillard told Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports. Kidd spent the past two seasons as an assistant coach with the Lakers.
Along with Kidd, ESPN analyst Jeff Van Gundy, Michigan’s Juwan Howard, Clippers assistant Chauncey Billups and Nets assistant Mike D’Antoni are said to be in the mix to replace Stotts.
