It seemed clear that Damian Lillard was once again ready and willing to stick with the Portland Trail Blazers – assuming they could move the need into this season even just a little bit.
Unfortunately, it didn’t happen, and not only that, but there were no signs of it happening outside of the team’s strong run, which (rightfully) wasn’t enough to lead Lillard to believe the team could compete with him on the spot.
But as Sam Amick of The Athletic According to the report, Lillard was originally prepared to request a trade from the Blazers on Monday, days before the start of free agency, but he chose to see how the team’s free agency start played out.
Then, according to Amick and The Athletic, Lillard viewed the “lack of new information on potential deals or updates on ongoing talks” as possibly there was no momentum in the roster or “hope restored”.
When all was said and done, the Blazers’ quiet opening night of free agency, which included the re-signing of Jerami Grant to a five-year, $160 million deal, marked the “unofficial end” to Lillard’s suspension on his trade request.
While signs (and reports) point to Lillard landing him with the Miami Heat, there could be more to this story when all is said and done. It seems likely that the Blazers will go out of their way to make Lillard happy, but also don’t seem to care much about trading him if it means getting very little in return.
Time will tell, but Lillard’s deal out of Portland may not be the overnight kind of deal.