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Pump the brakes on Damian Lillard's seemingly inevitable trade to the Miami Heat.
Less than a day after it was reported the Portland Trail Blazers would “work to accommodate” the greatest player in franchise history's preferences in a trade, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reports that general manager Joe Cronin and company are “open for business everywhere in the league” on Lillard.
“The Blazers' front office, their organization made it clear to teams who called yesterday about Damian Lillard that they are open for business everywhere in the league on him,” Wojnarowski said Sunday morning. “Our Marc Spears reports that Damian Lillard wants to play for the Miami Heat, that he has told the Blazers that. But he does not have a no-trade clause in the way that Bradley Beal did; he does not get to control where he goes next. And for Portland, listen, they're gonna go out into the market place and try to find the best deal they can—a combination of young players, draft picks, salary cap relief, all the things you want when a star of Damian Lillard's magnitude asks to be traded. So I think this will not be a quick process, and Miami does not have any advantage in trying to get a trade for Damian Lillard.”
The Trail Blazers do not plan to cooperate with Damian Lillard on his trade request to the Heat, per @wojespn:
– Portland “open for business everywhere in the league” on trading Lillard.
– Blazers seeking a combination of young players, draft picks and cap relief.
– Miami has… pic.twitter.com/n7y8PtaCgo
— Evan Sidery (@esidery) July 2, 2023
Lillard publicly requested a trade from the only team he's ever known on Saturday, after Portland failed to make a major splash in the opening hours of free agency. Initial reports suggested the Blazers' willingness to appease Lillard could make quick work of the trade process, landing him in Miami to form a new Big Three with Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo.
Cronin's subsequent statement about the Blazers “doing what's best for the team” in pursuit of winning ran contrary to that assumption, and ESPN”s latest reporting only doubles down on Portland's plans to trade Lillard to the team that would bring back the best return—even if he doesn't want to play there.
The trade market for Lillard may not align seamlessly with the Blazers' aggressive approach.
Lillard is signed to a massive contract that will pay him $63.2 million in 2026-27 if he exercises a player option, and has enough league-wide clout among teams, players and fans alike to curb his list of suitors by making it clear he'd be unpleasant to work with in certain potential destinations. He turns 33 in a couple weeks, too, a mismatched timeline fit for young teams and others who are led by star small guards.
The most likely outcome remains that Lillard finds his way to Miami. Early notions the Blazers would truly partner with Lillard to get him to South Beach, though, have all but vanished entirely.
