Damian Lillard has finally requested a trade from the Portland Trail Blazers, but the one thing that is clear is that in an ideal world, he’d have preferred to stay. He gave the team every chance to make moves that would have convinced him to stay, and their inability to do so meant he felt the need to ask out.

The bridge certainly hasn’t been burned because of it, though, and Lillard liked a tweet from a fan that stated he could do a LeBron James and return one day.

“Need Dame to pull some LeBron-type s***, goes to Miami win a couple (of) rings then come back home and win it..Portlandddddd This Is For Youuuu”

Credit: @Dame_Lillard/Twitter

Unfortunately, fairytale scenarios like that certainly don’t pan out all that often. It would be great, though, if Lillard, who wants to go to the Miami Heat, leaves the Blazers to win a couple of titles and then returns to finally win a title with the team that drafted him, as LeBron did.

It is probably the ideal scenario for Dame himself, as he loves Portland. He resisted calls to ask for a trade for years because he wanted to win a title there, and it was only when it became clear that it wasn’t going to happen, that he decided he had to leave.

The Trail Blazers Could Be A Really Good Team In A Few Years

What helped LeBron win that title in Cleveland, was that after his departure, the team fell apart. Poor seasons though, helped them draft Kyrie Irving, and they then got the No. 1 pick in the 2014 Draft, which they traded to acquire Kevin Love.

When James returned in 2014, the supporting cast around him was better than he ever had in Cleveland previously, and they went on to win it all in 2016.

With the Blazers now, they have some great young talent in Scoot Henderson, Shaedon Sharpe, and Anfernee Simons. In a few years, if they all develop like we’re expecting them to, the Blazers could have a really good team. Lillard could then return to be the final piece of the puzzle and help Portland finally win another title.