In the wake of Damian Lillard requesting a trade, one NBA writer has proposed that the Boston Celtics trade Jaylen Brown to the Portland Trail Blazers for Lillard.
Zach Buckley of Bleacher Report is proposing that the Celtics trade Brown, Al Horford and Payton Pritchard to the Blazers for Lillard, who has a rapport with Jayson Tatum.
“If the Celtics are able to land Lillard, their cleanest path to the prolific point guard would be giving up Brown,” Buckley wrote. “That’s admittedly a huge price to pay—and Boston would need to send out additional players to make the money work—but so is Brown’s potential supermax extension. Maybe the Celtics aren’t convinced he’s worth nearly $300 million. Maybe they think Lillard’s skill set pairs better with Tatum’s.”
The Celtics and Brown are currently negotiating a five-year, $295 million supermax contract. Boston is believed to be offering Brown the full five-year max, but the holdup is most likely over a fifth-year player option and/or a trade kicker. If negotiations go south, maybe the Celtics offer Brown to the Blazers for Lillard.
NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Damian Lillard, Portland Trail Blazers, Jaylen Brown & Boston Celtics Updates
One NBA insider thinks Lillard would be “fine” with getting traded by the Blazers to the Celtics, who lost to the Miami Heat in the 2023 Eastern Conference Finals in seven games. Lillard wants to play for the Heat, but Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated isn’t buying the “Miami-or-bust” stuff being reported about the seven-time All-Star.
“Call it an informed opinion, but I’m not buying this ‘Miami-or-bust’ stuff being reported about Damian Lillard,” Mannix wrote. “Does Lillard want to play in Miami? Absolutely. The Heat, according to a source with direct knowledge of Lillard’s thinking, are his first choice. But would Lillard balk if he was traded to Philadelphia, where he would join forces with Joel Embiid? Would he refuse to report to Boston, where he could play alongside Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown? I doubt it.”
NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Damian Lillard, Portland Trail Blazers, Jaylen Brown & Boston Celtics Updates
Lillard’s agent, Aaron Goodwin, has been telling teams not named the Heat that if they trade for Lillard, they would be acquiring an unhappy player. The future Hall of Famer only wants to get traded to Miami to play with Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo.
However, the Blazers can trade Lillard anywhere since the point guard doesn’t have a no-trade clause in his contract. Portland is seeking four first-round picks and two quality players in return for Lillard, who averaged 32.2 points, 4.8 rebounds and 7.3 assists last season.
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