Somebody tell Damian Lillard he has nothing more to prove to us, man. We know he’s nice. He does not have to put himself through this.

What is this, you ask? The complete teardown the Portland Trail Blazers are going through.

They just traded CJ McCollum, Larry Nance Jr. and Tony Snell to the New Orleans Pelicans for Josh Hart, Tomas Satoransky, Nickeil Alexander-Walker and a top-5 protected first-round pick, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported out the full details of the trade and, honestly, it’s not bad in a vacuum. This is totally a trade a team would make if they’re rebuilding. Which, clearly, the Blazers are. They’re tearing things down to the studs.

First Normal Powell, now this.

Full trade, per sources:
Blazers: Josh Hart, Tomas Satoransky, Nickeil Walker-Alexander, Didi Louzada, 2022 protected first-round pick, two second-round picks.
Pelicans: CJ McCollum, Larry Nance, Tony Snell.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 8, 2022

But, uh, Damian Lillard is still in the building they’re tearing down. And, yes, they’ll have good cap space and draft capital for next season. But how on Earth is that going to help Damian Lillard compete next year?

That’s the biggest question NBA fans have. And if one thing is true about Damian Lillard, he will not ask out. He’s told us over and over and over again how he won’t run from “the grind” and how loyal he is to the Blazers.

NBA fans are begging him to run now. As fast as he can. No one knows where Portland is going with this.