Damien Lillard She reportedly asked for a trade away from the Trail Blazers organization, according to the athlete“s Shams Al-Shaaraniyyah.
The Heat and the Nets are two teams with the best chances of landing Lillard. Bir Charania, Lillard“He specifically wants to play on the Heat.” ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski also reports that the Clippers and 76ers were interested in scouting deals for Lillard.
Portland is expected to strike deals that would provide the franchise with experimental assets and young talent, according to Lognarowski. Saturday’s news comes after Portland general manager Joe Cronin said Monday that he hopes to keep Lillard in the Trail Blazers’ uniform.
“We had a great conversation,” Cronin said in a statement following a meeting with Lillard. for every OregonianBill Oram. “We remain committed to building a winner around the lady.”
More than that, Lillard has been steadfast in wanting to stay in Portland as a competitor rather than join forces with one of the star-studded teams around the league. The seven-time All-Star, who has spent his entire career in Portland, is entering the third season of a four-year, $176 million extension.
Portland has centered its free agency moves this summer around keeping Lillard. On Friday, shortly after the league officially began free agency, Jerami Grant reportedly agreed to a five-year, $160 million deal to return to Portland, according to Charania.
Sam Amick the athlete I previously reported that Portland’s ability to keep Grant and sign Draymond Green was part of a “dream scenario” for Lillard to stay with the franchise. While Grant signed to a new deal, Green returned to Golden State on a four-year, $100 million deal.
However, after weeks of speculation, Miami appears to be the favorite to acquire Lillard in the trade. If Portland trades Lillard to Miami, it creates an ideal situation for him to immediately compete for the NBA title alongside Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo, both freshmen to the 2023 NBA Finals.
Since Lillard joined Portland in 2012, the franchise’s best season came in ’19 when the Trail Blazers appeared in the Western Conference Finals against the Warriors. However, Golden State swept Portland on its way to winning the NBA title that season.
Portland hasn’t played in the postseason in each of the past two seasons and has posted a 60-104 combined record. Lillard, who turns 33 on July 15, averaged 32.2 points per game in 58 contests last season. He also shot 37.1% from three-point range and averaged 7.3 assists and 4.8 rebounds per game.