Report: Damian Lillard would prefer to stay on the West Coast if he were to leave the Blazers

One of the stars in the NBA that some think could be on the move in the near future is Portland Trail Blazers point guard Damian Lillard.

While some have pegged the Philadelphia 76ers as a potential landing spot, a new report seems to indicate that Lillard would prefer to remain on the West Coast.

“I don’t actually think that – at least nothing that I’ve heard of – has Damian Lillard insisting that it has to be Philadelphia, that he goes to,” Chad Ford said on his podcast. “In fact, everything that I’ve heard is that he would prefer a move to the West Coast or to stay on the West Coast.”

It’s not much of a mystery as to why the 76ers seem like a logical landing spot for Lillard. Philadelphia has been trying to trade point guard Ben Simmons for a while.

Moreover, the potential combination of Lillard and 76ers star Joel Embiid would certainly be a devastating one.

So far this season, Lillard is performing at a high level once again. He’s averaging 24.0 points, 7.3 assists and 4.1 rebounds per game. With that in mind, his shooting percentages have taken a troubling dip compared to last season.

He’s shooting 40.2 percent from the field this year compared to 45.1 percent last season, and he’s shooting just 32.4 percent from 3-point land compared to 39.1 percent from deep last season.

Ultimately, it is hard to predict if Lillard will be moved. He is the face of the Blazers franchise and has repeatedly expressed his devotion to the organization. However, with the Blazers sagging in the standings and trade rumors picking up, it would not be much of a shock if he were to get moved.

The Blazers are 21-31 on the 2021-22 season thus far and currently sit at the No. 10 seed in the Western Conference.