Damian Lillard’s agent, Aaron Goodwin, believes the Portland Trail Blazers will trade his client to the Miami Heat. Lillard, one of the best players in the NBA, has demanded that the Blazers trade him to the Heat.
“I had a positive conversation with Joe (Cronin) and I made it clear that Damian would want (the Blazers) to sit down and have a meaningful negotiation with Miami,” Goodwin told Aaron Fentress of the Oregonian/OregonLive. “And I think that’s something that Joe and the Blazers will do.”
Goodwin has reached out to teams not named the Heat, telling them not to trade for Lillard, who only wants to play for Miami so he can join forces with Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo. Lillard and Adebayo are very close friends and Butler told Pat Riley to do whatever it takes to get Lillard to South Beach.
Since Lillard doesn’t have a no-trade clause in his contract, the Blazers can trade the seven-time All-Star anywhere. However, the expectation around Lillard is that his insistence on Miami will discourage other teams from offering their best assets to try to acquire him from Portland.
NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Damian Lillard, Portland Trail Blazers & Miami Heat Updates
Lillard averaged 32.2 points, 4.8 rebounds and 7.3 assists last season. He believes he can finally compete for a championship with the Heat, who lost to the Denver Nuggets in the 2023 NBA Finals in five games.
Miami is 0-2 in the Finals since Butler came to Miami in 2019. The team is missing a superstar scorer and playmaker like Lillard, who has career averages of 25.2 points, 4.2 rebounds and 6.7 assists.
NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Damian Lillard, Portland Trail Blazers & Miami Heat Updates
Riley has been looking to acquire another superstar ever since LeBron James left the Heat in the summer of 2014. The Hall of Famer didn’t aggressively pursue Bradley Beal, who was traded to the Phoenix Suns by the Washington Wizards, because he wanted to save his assets for Lillard.
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