The Los Angeles Clippers, Minnesota Timberwolves, New Orleans Pelicans and Boston Celtics are interested in trading for Portland Trail Blazers superstar Damian Lillard, according to NBA insider Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report and TNT.
Lillard has requested a trade from the Blazers and wants to get traded to the Miami Heat. However, Portland doesn’t have to trade Lillard to Miami since the point guard doesn’t have a no-trade clause in his contract.
“The Clippers reached out to Portland and tried to see if there’s a way that they can get into that sweepstakes,” Haynes said on the latest episode of the #thisLeague UNCUT podcast with Marc Stein. “Dame requested the trade and then all of a sudden he became the top target and kind of — I won’t say put a hold on the league, but it did cause teams to pause: ‘OK hold on, let’s wait on what we had planned, let’s look to see if we got a shot.’
“The Clippers were one of those teams who did that. The Minnesota Timberwolves, New Orleans Pelicans, Boston Celtics, yeah those are the teams that off the top of my head and I’m pretty sure there were more. Those were the teams off the top of my head that I know called out to reach out to see what it would take.”
NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Damian Lillard, Los Angeles Clippers, Minnesota Timberwolves, New Orleans Pelicans & Boston Celtics
Lillard is one of the best players in the NBA, so it’s not surprising to hear that multiple teams are interested in trading for him. The seven-time All-Star averaged 32.2 points, 4.8 rebounds and 7.3 assists last season.
Even though several teams want to trade for Lillard, the expectation around the NBA is that Lillard’s insistence on landing with the Heat will discourage other teams from offering their best assets to try to acquire him.
NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Damian Lillard, Los Angeles Clippers, Minnesota Timberwolves, New Orleans Pelicans & Boston Celtics
Lillard and Heat center Bam Adebayo are very close friends. Miami small forward Jimmy Butler has also told Pat Riley that he wants Dame in South Beach.
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