Portland Trail Blazers general manager Joe Cronin spoke to NBA reporters at Summer League in Las Vegas on July 10, making his first public comments since Damian Lillard requested a trade to the Miami Heat.
“Building around Dame has always been the goal, even through the draft,” Cronin said. “The difficulty we ran into was finding the right deals. We kept scouring the market looking for more win-now players, and those players just weren’t available.”
While the goal was to build around Lillard, Cronin understands why he wouldn’t view the current team as assembled as being a win-now opportunity for him to contend for a title.
“I can see why Dame would look at it and see why this isn’t a win-now opportunity,” Cronin said. “From that standpoint, I understand it and respect it.”
While placing Lillard into a favorable situation is a priority for the Blazers, the team is not going to do it at the expense of their franchise.
“What the rest of [Dame]’s career looks like matters for us,” Cronin said. “At the same time, we have to find the right deal and do what’s best for us.”
NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Damian Lillard & Portland Trail Blazers 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 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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