In the wake of Damian Lillard requesting a trade from the Portland Trail Blazers, one NBA writer is proposing a three-team trade between the Blazers, Chicago Bulls and Houston Rockets.
Lillard would land in Chicago, Zach LaVine would end up in Houston and Kevin Porter Jr., Jalen Green, Jae’Sean Tate and Cam Whitmore would go to Portland in Bleacher Report’s Zach Buckley‘s proposed trade.
“The likeliest outcome to the Lillard sweepstakes is some kind of three- or four-team trade,” Buckley wrote. “Those can be tricky to pull off, since everyone needs their back scratched in some fashion, but it’s the easiest way to connect Portland with a Lillard shopper. Teams who want Lillard are in win-now mode, meaning they probably don’t have the kind of long-term assets the Blazers want. That’s where the third team enters the chat.
“In this case, it’s Houston, which signaled a clear desire to compete this summer by adding several prominent veterans, most notably Fred VanVleet and Dillon Brooks. Maybe that’s enough for the Rockets to think they’ve changed the culture, but perhaps this club is interested in fast-forwarding things even further. In that case, it could be willing to sacrifice some of its young talent for an established star like LaVine.”
NBA TRADES, NEWS & RUMORS: Damian Lillard, Zach LaVine, Portland Trail Blazers, Chicago Bulls & Houston Rockets Updates
Lillard wants to get traded to the Miami Heat. However, since he doesn’t have a no-trade clause in his contract, Lillard can’t control where he goes. The seven-time All-Star signed a two-year, $121.8 million maximum veteran contract extension with Portland in July 2022.
Meanwhile, the Bulls are open to trading LaVine if they can acquire a substantial haul. The two-time All-Star signed a five-year, $215.2 million contract last summer.
NBA TRADES, NEWS & RUMORS: Damian Lillard, Zach LaVine, Portland Trail Blazers, Chicago Bulls & Houston Rockets Updates
This trade proposal would give the Bulls a new Big 3 of Lillard, DeMar DeRozan and Nikola Vucevic. Meanwhile, the Rockets would have LaVine, Fred VanVleet, Dillon Brooks, Alperen Şengün, Amen Thompson and Jabari Smith Jr. and the Blazers would build around Porter Jr., Green, Tate, Whitmore and Scoot Henderson.
The Blazers, Bulls and Rockets all missed the playoffs last season.
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