The NBA’s 2023-24 season is set to tip off within the next month-and-a-half, which, for the Portland Trail Blazers, will either prompt a heartfelt goodbye or the most awkward “hello” in franchise history as it relates to Damian Lillard.
For the small-market Blazers, suddenly the talk of the town across the Association, this represents somewhat-uncharted territory. After spending much of the past decade feeling overlooked and in obscurity — some of it fair, some of it unfair — they’ve become the hub for off-the-wall trade proposals, hot takes and even the occasional theory on when precisely it failed its seven-time All-Star.