Damian Lillard has requested a trade from the Portland Trail Blazers and wants to get traded to the Miami Heat. NBA insider Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic believes the Heat will eventually acquire Lillard, but he thinks it will take a while to happen.
“So if the Blazers are gonna go totally rebuild, they have to get young pieces and they have to get draft picks,” Krawczynski said on his podcast. “Miami doesn’t have a whole lot of either of those to offer right now. And so the pursuit is on to find some other teams to jump in and allow them to do that. But I think it’s going to take some time. I don’t get the sense out here, (it) doesn’t feel like there’s something imminent right now. This might take a little while to put together.”
NBA Summer League is currently taking place in Las Vegas, so a lot of agents and execs are under the same roof. Krawczynski, who covers the Minnesota Timberwolves, is hearing that most people around the NBA think Pat Riley will acquire Lillard.
“So the scuttlebutt out here, it seems to be when you talk to, you know, I’ve talked to a bunch of agents, have talked to several executives with other teams, and it’s what everyone is talking about,” Krawczynski said. “And there just seems to be an overall belief that eventually at some point, Miami will find a way to get the pieces together to get Damian Lillard there.”
NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Damian Lillard, Portland Trail Blazers & Miami Heat Updates
Lillard’s agent, Aaron Goodwin, has been telling teams not to trade for his client since Lillard only wants to play for the Heat. The Blazers have thus far not been impressed with the Heat’s trade offers for Lillard. Portland is pursuing the sliding-scale superstar package of desirable draft picks and high-level young players.
Lillard averaged 32.2 points, 4.8 rebounds and 7.3 assists for the Blazers last season. The Heat, who have reached two NBA Finals since Jimmy Butler came to Miami in 2019, believe they can win it all next season with Lillard in the fold next to Butler and Bam Adebayo. It’s worth mentioning that Lillard and Adebayo are very close friends.
NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Damian Lillard, Portland Trail Blazers & Miami Heat Updates
Lillard was upset the Blazers didn’t trade the third overall pick in the 2023 draft for a star player. Portland drafted Scoot Henderson, who plays the same position as Lillard, with the third pick.
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