Damian Lillard, an All-Star guard, was dealt by the Portland Trail Blazers to the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday, putting an end to a once-promising union that resulted in a bitter separation. But the latest reports could land the Blazers in more trouble. According to reports, the Portland Trail Blazers urged their franchise star, Lillard, to sit out the final 10 games of the 2022–23 season in order to secure a top lottery pick.
Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report reported this information, citing sources who said the Blazers thought a higher lottery selection would increase their chances of acquiring a veteran player in a trade. This is far worse than the Mavericks’ last-day $750,000 penalties for brazenly tanking the season’s final two games to improve their draft position.
This is a clear violation of the new CBA
Blazers could be in line for significant penalties…
😬😬😬 pic.twitter.com/bC9bttJuWF
— Miami Heatle 🔥🐬 (@HeatleMiami) September 29, 2023
Portland supposedly played 10 games during their stay, and the team lied about having their greatest player injured. The Lillard trade put an end to a long-running drama in which the Miami Heat were often mentioned as his most likely destination. Less than 24 hours had passed since Lillard’s trade to the Milwaukee Bucks when the news of the Blazers’ trick came out.
It looks like Joe Cronin has a lot of people who don’t like him.
The Portland Trail Blazers coul face a similar fate as the Dallas Mavericks
Many supporters believe that the NBA needs to take action against these types of incidents. Organizations could be able to get away with these stunts, though, unless the league makes an effort, which would cause their devoted fan bases to lose faith. The NBA penalized the Dallas Mavericks $750,000 earlier this summer for breaking the league’s resting rule.
In order to rest five players for the last three-quarters of the April 7 game against the Chicago Bulls, including Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic, Dallas decided to rest its studs in order to get a better draft pick. The Trail Blazers may also face severe consequences, ranging from hefty fines to the loss of draft selections and everything in between if the league begins an inquiry into this and determines that there is some truth to it. This is a serious charge.
Nonetheless, with the deal completed, Damian Lillard and the Blazers organization must be overjoyed. They won’t have to deal with the controversy that comes with a superstar trade and can instead concentrate on developing their own organizations. Only time will tell how the Bucks and Blazers organizations develop in the future.
