NBA Trade Rumors: New York Knicks doing homework on Damian Lillard's availability

NBA trade rumors surrounding the possibility of Damian Lillard joining the New York Knicks have been heating up lately. The latest reports suggest the Knicks are preparing themselves to be ready if the window for a trade deal opens up.

As reported by Ian Bagely of SNY TV:

"Members of the Knicks organization have been doing homework/prep work on the possibility of Lillard becoming available via trade, per sources."

Recent NBA trade rumors have also suggested that multiple factors surrounding the Portland Trail Blazers' current situation may push the All-Star out of the franchise.

The backlash from Portland Trail Blazers’ coaching search and his concerns over whether a championship contender can be built have become major factors that could force Damian Lillard to request out, league sources tell @YahooSports. https://t.co/syN8upvWPx
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) June 27, 2021

Expand Tweet

A plethora of franchises have been keeping an eye on Damian Lillard's situation with the Trail Blazers, and the New York Knicks could be among the top teams to aggressively pursue him.

Lillard is currently under contract until the 2024-25 NBA season and will command a huge trade package from other teams for his services.

NBA Trade Rumors: Should the New York Knicks trade for Damian Lillard?

Damian Lillard is a superstar of the game who has the ability to win games single-handedly for his team. It comes as no surprise that franchises would be willing to go all out to trade for him, considering how effective a scorer the superstar is.

However, it will be important for the New York Knicks and other teams looking to trade for the Portland Trail Blazers man to assess whether he is keen on joining them in the long run. Damian Lillard is 30-years-old and is evidently looking for a win-now situation.

As far as the New York Knicks are concerned, they are still growing and will take time to become title-contenders, which makes it questionable whether or not Lillard will be willing to join them. Acquiring him via a trade deal will come at a huge cost, which makes it of utmost importance to consider the aforementioned factors.

As mentioned by Bagley in his report:

"Since Lillard is under contract through 2024-25, it’s reasonable to assume that he couldn’t force Portland to trade him to a specific organization. At the same time, it would be a huge risk for a team to trade for Lillard without assurances that he wanted to be part of the organization. "

The Portland Trail Blazers' offseason will be huge in determining whether Damian Lillard stays with the franchise or not. They need to build a team that will assure their main man that they can be contenders as soon as possible.

If not, Portland will have to start considering their options to prepare for next season without their franchise star, especially with intriguing landing spots like the New York Knicks eagerly interested in trading for Damian Lillard.