Teams are also busy trading just before the trade deadline approaches, and the Blazers are one of the most frequently traded teams, having now completed two big deals. The first trade was to trade Powell and Covington to the Clippers in exchange for Bledsoe, Winslow, Keane Johnson and a second-round pick.
The second deal was to trade McCollum, Nance Jr. and Snell to the Pelicans for Hart, Satoransky, Nikiel Alexander Walker, Silva, one 2022 first-round pick and two future second-round picks.
After these two big deals, the Blazers' roster also underwent a major change, and three starters were eliminated at once, leaving only Lillard and Nurkic at the core.
For Lillard, this is not the first time this has happened. In the summer of 2014, the Blazers' roster also ushered in a huge change, with five starters, except For Lillard, the other four leaving, Aldridge joining the Spurs, Batum joining the Hornets, Lopez Jr. joining the Knicks, and Matthews joining the Lone Rangers.
The four starting teammates all left the team, and Lillard became a "loner", although it was difficult for Lillard to accept it for a while, but it also gave him the opportunity to let the Blazers completely become Lillard's team, and Lillard has since embarked on the road to superstardom. In addition, McCollum also got the opportunity to come forward, and Lillard formed a double gun in the backcourt, leading the Blazers to the playoffs for 8 consecutive years.
However, although Lillard led the Blazers to the playoffs every year, the Blazers always had a great distance from the championship and never reached the Finals. In such a situation, Lillard also lost patience, although he more than once showed to stay in the Blazers and would not leave for the championship, but if the Blazers did not see the hope of winning the championship, Lillard would probably gradually lose patience.
Last summer, the Blazers got better at the head coach, but the arrival of the new coach Than Lups did not bring much improvement, and the Blazers have performed worse this season, and the hope of making the playoffs is very slim. Lillard has also been in average form this season and has suffered injuries, so the Blazers have had to trade and start rebuilding.
Judging from the recent operation of the Blazers, they also want to rebuild, and the players exchanged for the two deals have not helped much to improve the strength of the team, more for the purpose of reducing salaries and luxury taxes. If the Blazers were to rebuild completely, Lillard would probably leave the Blazers for the championship. In this way, the only one who can be called one person and one city in active service is Curry.