It didn’t take long.

according to Kevin O’Connor of The RingerIf the star guard is placed in the trading zone, the 76ers are indeed interested in signing Damian Lillard.

First of all, uh.Of course, the 76ers are interested in trading Lillard, the Trail Blazers All-Star point guard reportedly Dissatisfied with the status quo in Portland, From another early withdrawal from the playoffs to the decision to hire Chauncey Billups as the team’s next coach.

Here are more stories from O’Connor Thursday about the future development of the Clippers after being eliminated by the Suns on Wednesday night, including an interesting Nugget about the 76ers:

According to Yahoo’s Chris Haynes, Damian Lillard is dissatisfied with the Trail Blazers. League sources said that it is worth noting that in 2019, Lillard is on the list of players Leonard wants to cooperate with. But Lillard’s contract still has four seasons. Portland does not need to trade him. If the deal is inevitable, Los Angeles won’t have many good things to add to a deal involving George. If the Trail Blazers prefer young players and draft picks, the Clippers can easily be offered high prices.

And Ben Simmons, the 76ers All-Star, spends almost all of his rest time in Los Angeles, and he will add a much-needed organizational ability to the Clippers. But regardless of the other parts of the potential deal, will Leonard be willing to work with Simmons after Simmons’ disastrous playoffs? When league sources say they also want a chance to sign Lillard, is this a deal the 76ers want to make? [theringer.com]

This is interesting for two reasons.

First of all, this confirms what we have always known that if Lillard plays, the 76ers will indeed pay attention to him, if he has not yet.As We have written a lot, The 76ers should focus on maximizing the use of Joel Embiid (Joel Embiid) at his peak to maximize their current window period and bring in Lillard-even if it costs Simmons, Then there are some-will achieve this goal to a large extent. He is a veteran, he can open up the space and immediately provide the team with the creator of key moments, which is something they have been so lacking since Jimmy Butler left.

But the other side of the coin. The 76ers can easily read it when searching for the part about Lillard, but the second paragraph begins when O’Connor speculates that the 76ers may trade Simmons to the Clippers to compete with Kawhi and Co. between this and Lillard. Speculation-any deal to buy Lillard will almost certainly involve the team at least sending Simmons back-it sounds more and more likely that the 76ers will indeed consider trading the 24-year-old point guard, but they subsequently Publicly denying this. In the season that ended abruptly in the second round against the Hawks, Simmons was the worst version we have seen since he entered the league.

Given that the 76ers are reportedly looking for “an opportunity to land Lillard”, in this case, they will also follow that they are looking for a way to move Simmons. Coincidentally Bought a new house in the Los Angeles area.

But for the 76ers, landing Lillard still feels like a pipe dream, even if they have enough conditions to provide a substantial offer. Here is more information from one of Kyle Neubeck’s recent pouches:

I think it’s difficult to price what Lillard means to Portland, and I think if he gets to the point where he wants to leave, then where he wants to go is as important as what you can offer. I think Simmons is not necessarily the one leading Lillard’s package now, but if Lillard sets his sights on another team in another market, it may ultimately be meaningless. I suspect Lillard will get where he wants to go in one way or another.

Is it Philadelphia? Maybe. But he is a through-and-out West Coaster, and if the 76ers don’t start to threaten more seriously than in recent years, I don’t think this man who prides himself on seeing things through will change his desire to join another flawed contender. If (perhaps when) he turns to chase mode, he will give himself the best chance of winning. [MORE]

It is also worth remembering that it is still early. O’Connor did not report that the 76ers had made an offer, and even negotiated with the Trail Blazers. The Trail Blazers have been very busy in recent days to introduce their new coach and deal with the resulting impact.

However, this is the biggest sign so far that Darryl Morey and the 76ers may be looking for stars this offseason-even though they have publicly stated that it will be difficult for Simmons to come back next season.

stay tuned…

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