One NBA insider believes the Portland Trail Blazers will talk with superstar point guard Damian Lillard if the franchise decides to trade him.
Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report talked about the Blazers’ approach with Lillard if a rebuild is a route the organization wants to take.
“If it gets to that point, they would consult with Dame,” Haynes said. “He’s been there 10 years, he’s been a model citizen, represented that city and organization with class. I think they would try to get him where he wants to go in the East.”
Lillard recently said he would like to get traded to the Miami Heat or Brooklyn Nets if the Blazers decided to move him.
NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Damian Lillard, Portland Trail Blazers, Miami Heat & Brooklyn Nets Updates
The seven-time All-Star has a close relationship with Heat All-Star center Bam Adebayo and Nets small forward Mikal Bridges.
Damian Lillard says Miami is ‘obviously’ his first choice over Boston, New York and Brooklyn in a hypothetical trade
— NBACentral (@TheNBACentral) June 7, 2023
“Bam is my dawg”
(Via @Showtime ) pic.twitter.com/9XhBZq3kIp
One NBA scout recently told NBA Analysis Network that Lillard “would like to play” with Bridges. Dame isn’t expected to request a trade from the Blazers, but it’s certainly eye-popping that he’s talking about playing for other teams so openly.
“There are many directions the Blazers can go this summer,” the scout said. “A lot will depend on what Dame wants to do. That’s hard to tell right now since it’s so early. If you bank on every little rumbling, you’ll have a lot of conflicting info by the time the Combine even starts. One player I know he really would like to play with is Mikal Bridges. That doesn’t mean he has to do it in Brooklyn, though. That’s a trade target I’d keep an eye on if Portland tries to add a piece around Dame.”
NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Damian Lillard, Portland Trail Blazers, Miami Heat & Brooklyn Nets Updates
Lillard has said multiple times that he wants to spend his entire career with the Blazers. Portland has the third overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft and general manager Joe Cronin told Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports that he wants to maximize Lillard’s timeline.
“We’re a team that’s trying to win and trying to maximize Damian’s timeline. This was an important night for us,” Cronin told Yahoo Sports. “Front offices around the league think highly of this draft, so you would think that a lot of teams that were sitting (on stage) tonight will be getting a lot of calls from teams trying to move up and maneuver.”
NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Damian Lillard, Portland Trail Blazers, Miami Heat & Brooklyn Nets Updates
The Blazers won just 33 games this season. They have missed the playoffs two years in a row after making the postseason eight consecutive years.
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