It felt like eons ago when Damian Lillard's trade request from the Portland Trail Blazers went public back on July 1st. ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski has reported that the Miami Heat are Lillard's preferred landing spot. But it's been 2.5 months and there has been zero movement on that trade front whatsoever.

There hasn't been much movement with another disgruntled star guard. James Harden made the curious decision to opt into his $35.6 million player option with the intention of seeking yet another trade back in late June. If Harden's intentions weren't known then, they certainly were when he publicly stated he would never play for an organization that included Philadelphia 76ers' president of basketball operations Daryl Morey again.

Naturally, with two stars looking for greener pastures elsewhere, it would make sense to try to flip them for each other. The problem with that is the Blazers, beginning a rebuild and a total franchise overhaul, have no use for an aging star like Harden. It would require a third team to help facilitate this trade. The Clippers have been rumored to be a (the only?) and Wojnarowski reported their interest back in June. Three-team trades are incredibly complex to pull off, but there might be enough motivation from all three of these teams to potentially get a deal done. ESPN published an article with a litany of hypothetical trades involving Damian Lillard. One of those was a three-team trade between the Sixers, Clippers, and Blazers. Does it make sense for each team?

Sixers acquire: Damian Lillard, Terance Mann, Norman Powell, and Robert Covington

If the Sixers were able to acquire the Blazers star, he and Joel Embiid would instantly become one of the best duos in the NBA. Heck, Embiid and Harden already were. The Harden-Embiid pick-and-roll tandem generated 1.12 points per possession last season, one of the best marks in the entire NBA.

Harden is a better playmaker than Lillard, but Lillard is a much more well-rounded scorer who is also a very good playmaker for others. Harden also generated 0.9 points per possession as a pick-and-roll ballhandler last season according to NBA.com. Despite being on a much more lousy team compared to Harden's Sixers squad, Lillard was up to 1.13 points per possession, ranking inside the 93rd percentile of all players.

Grade: A-

Clippers Acquire: James Harden and Tobias Harris

The Clippers badly need a point guard who can not only set up Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, but can also play off of them. Harden can do that. Harden shot 38.5% from three last season on top of the 10.7 assists per game he averaged, which led the NBA. And Tobias Harris is fantastic as another wing the Clippers have hoarded over the years who can stretch the floor and attack mismatches.

There are a few issues, however. One would be teams with James Harden typically play very slowly. That could work with this aging Clippers team but would make them fairly one-dimensional. The other would be this: does James Harden want to be a third-fiddle? Harden and his camp have talked a lot about how much he has sacrificed. He'd have to do that again here. Lastly: if Harden doesn't like his situation as the clear third fiddle here, how long would it be until he asks for another trade? The Clippers would be his fourth team in three calendar years. The depth and picks they'd have to give up might not be worth the squeeze for the Clippers, but this is also maybe their only route to drastically improve their team. It's a risk they almost have to take.

Grade: B

Blazers Acquire: Tyrese Maxey, Furkan Korkmaz, Jaden Springer, Nicolas Batum, Marcus Morris Sr., Amir Coffey, and 2028 and 2030 First-Round Picks (via Clippers)

Jaden Springer is an interesting prospect. Most of those veterans are salary fillers who could maybe fetch a late first or some seconds on the trade market with their expiring contracts. The 2028 and 2030 first-rounders from the Clippers could be extremely valuable as Paul George, Kawhi Leonard, and James Harden continue to age.

But the real prize is Tyrese Maxey. Maxey looks like a perennial All-Star after the season he had in Philly, posting 20.3 points per game on a ridiculous 56.8% effective field goal percentage. The Blazers already have a lot of guards between Maxey, Anfernee Simons, Shaedon Sharpe, and rookie Scoot Henderson, but that's a problem they can figure out later. Talents like Maxey are hard to come by. This would be a great deal for them in the long run.

Grade: A