The NBA world was turned on its head when Portland Trail Blazers star point guard Damian Lillard requested a trade from the franchise. For years, Lillard has stood by the team, hoping to play for a contender and bring a championship to Rip City. But, this offseason, his tone finally changed as he is looking for potentially greener pastures.
In years past, the Trail Blazers could have gotten whatever they wanted in exchange for Lillard. He is an elite scoring guard, coming off a season in which he shot and scored a career-high, averaging 32.2 points per game on 46.3 percent shooting.
Lillard very clearly can still play at a high level, but the Trail Blazers have been hamstrung in negotiations. His contract is massive as he will be earning over $58 million when he is 35 and potentially north of $63 million when he is 36 if he opts into his player option.
Even more detrimental than his contract is the tactics that his representatives are using. His agent is doing everything he can to steer him to his preferred destination of the defending Eastern Conference Champions, the Miami Heat. Reports have gone as far as to say that Lillard won’t show up if any other team tries to trade for him.
NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Damian Lillard, Portland Trail Blazers & Miami Heat Updates
On a truly open market, the best offer the Heat could make wouldn’t come close to what other teams around the league could put on the table. However, if teams are truly scared off by what Lillard’s reps are saying, Portland general manager Joe Cronin will have to do his best to secure as strong an offer as possible.
What could that deal look like? Former NBA general manager Bobby Marks had an appearance on NBA Today and put together what he thinks could be the best deal from the Trail Blazers’ perspective.
In the proposed deal, Lillard would head to Miami along with Jusuf Nurkic as Portland would be looking to clear as much salary as possible off their books. Heading back to Portland would be Kyle Lowry, Tyler Herro, Caleb Martin and first-round picks in 2028 and 2030.
It would be fair to assume that the Trail Blazers would ask for pick swaps in 2027 and 2029 as well to try and sweeten the pot as much as possible. Given the ages of Jimmy Butler and Lillard, those picks could be extremely valuable as they will be 38 and 37 years old, respectively.
NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Damian Lillard, Portland Trail Blazers & Miami Heat Updates
Compared to what other superstar, All-Star-level players have fetched in trades, the Trail Blazers look to be getting hosed here. But, their front office will have to make the most of a bad situation and if a deal will only get completed with Miami, this is about as good of a return as they can expect.
Want the latest NBA analysis, breaking news, and insider information? Click Here. Follow NBA Analysis Network on Twitter and Facebook.
