The Portland Trail Blazers “would like” to trade Damian Lillard before training camp starts, according to NBA insider Barry Jackson. Lillard requested a trade from the Blazers to the Miami Heat on July 1.
Lillard was a guest on the BACKONFIGG show on YouTube and he talked about why he requested a trade from the Blazers. Lillard, who has spent his entire NBA career with the Blazers, said he and Portland don’t want the same thing anymore.
NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Damian Lillard, Miami Heat, Portland Trail Blazers Updates
“It’s a way that you have to go about things where you can’t be an idiot,” Lillard, one of the best players in NBA history, said. “You say I’m gonna stay down, I’m gonna ride till the wheels fall off and all that stuff. I don’t have to prove that to nobody, like I’ve shown it. I mean that in my heart. But that’s like me and you saying no matter what happens we ain’t telling on each other. Ya know, I’m saying we never tell on each other. And then the day comes where I’m still playing by those same rules.
“Like man, you want the same thing? We’re gonna go out together and then that ain’t the code you want to live by no more,” Lillard, one of the top shooters in NBA history, added. “So when that happens, you can’t be how it was. … You don’t want the same thing no more and you show me that you don’t want the same thing. We don’t want the same thing.”
During his trade request talk with the Blazers, Lillard expressed his frustration with the franchise for failing to construct a roster capable of making a title push. The All-Star point guard felt the time was now to request a trade after coming off a career NBA season.
An NBA legend, Lillard averaged 32.2 points, 4.8 rebounds and 7.3 assists last season for the Blazers. He will make $46.6 million next season. Lillard signed a two-year, $121.8 million extension with Portland in July 2022.
NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Damian Lillard, Miami Heat, Portland Trail Blazers Updates
Lillard still wants the Blazers to trade him to the Heat despite the NBA’s initiative to warn Lillard and his agent that any further comments made “suggesting Lillard will not fully perform the services called for under his player contract in the event of a trade” will be subject to discipline, according to NBA insider Shams Charania of The Athletic.
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