The Portland Trail Blazers' apparent unwillingness to trade star point guard Damian Lillard has drawn a slew of reactions from all parts of the basketball world. Although Lillard submitted his trade request earlier this summer, the Blazers have thus far refused to budge, even to the proposed trade from Lillard's preferred destination, the Miami Heat.

Recently, NBA 2K's Ronnie 2K broke down the Blazers' potential mindset as they navigate this tumultuous offseason.

“You only get a once in a generation asset like Dame every once in a while, so you better maximize the opportunity,” said Ronnie 2K, via The Hoop Chat. “If they're smart, they're not in any hurry to just jump for joy to make it happen for him. They want to make sure that they're getting maximum value.”

It's certainly worth considering that Damian Lillard is after all the best player in Blazers franchise history and the team therefore should not be in a rush to simply unload him from the organization.

Still, that doesn't take away from how surprising it's been that there haven't been more suiters for the multi-time All-Star. Reportedly, the Miami Heat are the only team that continues to make serious offers for the point guard, as they look to add some playmaking next to Jimmy Butler, a need that was thoroughly exposed in their NBA Finals loss to the Denver Nuggets in 2023.

While it remains more likely than not that Lillard will ultimately be moved, one can't help but check the calendar and see that there is now just a month and a half until the NBA season gets underway in October.