This has been the summer of the Damian Lillard trade saga. He asked the Portland Trail Blazers to trade him early in the offseason after 11 frustrating NBA seasons with them, but there has been little progress made toward a potential deal.
There has been some movement in recent days, as more teams other than the Miami Heat, his preferred destination all along, have been rumored to now have interest in acquiring him. But it is looking likely that we will soon be heading into the fall of the Lillard trade saga.
The Chicago Bulls and Toronto Raptors are the two other teams that have been most mentioned as having the desire to get in on the Lillard sweepstakes. In fact, reports indicate the Raptors are now the new frontrunner to land him, especially since the Blazers have reportedly refused to talk to Miami about a possible trade.
The Toronto Raptors may not be a bad consolidation prize as far as a destination for Lillard.
Good Destination: Toronto Raptors
The Toronto Raptors won the NBA title not long ago — 2019 to be exact. It still has a couple of players who were on that team, including forward Pascal Siakam, a two-time All-Star, and wing OG Anunoby.
It also possesses an intriguing young player in Scottie Barnes, a versatile 6-foot-9 forward who can handle the ball, score, get others involved and play quality defense.
If Lillard were to end up with the Raptors, they would likely have some support around him right away. Perhaps they wouldn’t have enough to become contenders right away, but one or two other minor or medium-sized moves may take care of that issue.
NBA TRADES, NEWS & RUMORS: Damian Lillard, Portland Trail Blazers & Toronto Raptors Updates
They do have president Masai Ujiri, who is considered one of the best executives in pro basketball. While with the Denver Nuggets, he was named the Executive of the Year in 2013.
Bad Destination: Philadelphia 76ers
On paper, it may seem a trade such as this one suggested by FanSided’s Christopher Cline would make the Philadelphia 76ers the best team in the Eastern Conference. The deal included Tyrese Maxey, Tobias Harris, and two future first-round picks being moved to the Portland Trail Blazers in exchange for Lillard.
Lillard and reigning regular season MVP Joel Embiid would make quite a combo, but the reality would be more bleak than some may think.
NBA TRADES, NEWS & RUMORS: Damian Lillard, Portland Trail Blazers & Philadelphia 76ers Updates
It seems extremely unlikely the Blazers would take back James Harden, who has asked to be traded himself, in any potential Lillard deal. That would mean a disgruntled Harden would be playing alongside Lillard, and we have seen what a disgruntled Harden looks like.
Early in the 2020-21 season, he asked the Houston Rockets to trade him, and he came into training camp visibly fat and out of shape.
NBA TRADES, NEWS & RUMORS: Damian Lillard, Portland Trail Blazers & Philadelphia 76ers Updates
It could turn into a frustrating situation for Lillard, who is hungry for a world championship ring. Such a Philadelphia 76ers team would likely win lots of regular season games, but it wouldn’t have the cohesiveness or resolve to win it all.
Best Destination: Miami Heat
Needless to say, if the Miami Heat end up landing Lillard, even if they have to part with someone such as Tyler Herro, they would end up being the favorites to come out of the Eastern Conference and possibly the favorites to win it all.
Heat culture is a very real thing, and it has been on display for the last four years, as the team has reached the NBA Finals twice despite sporting a less-than-stellar roster. In doing so, it has defeated the Boston Celtics and Milwaukee Bucks twice in the early rounds of the playoffs, and both teams certainly have more talent than Miami does.
NBA TRADES, NEWS & RUMORS: Damian Lillard, Portland Trail Blazers & Miami Heat Updates
With Lillard on the roster, the team would have someone who could go at opponents offensively early and often. One problem it has had is a major lack of offensive firepower and no one else other than Jimmy Butler and, to a certain extent, Herro, who can attack teams and get points in bunches off the dribble.
This deficiency resulted in the Heat finishing last in scoring last season and routinely falling behind early in games versus contenders, especially come playoff time.
Lillard is one of the game’s deadliest players in crunch time, as is Butler, and they would team with All-Star big man Bam Adebayo to form an outstanding threesome. The Heat have been masters at finding diamonds in the rough, especially among undrafted players, and they have a number of young prospects who could help out that trio.
NBA TRADES, NEWS & RUMORS: Damian Lillard, Portland Trail Blazers & Miami Heat Updates
The Heat are consistently a strong defensive team, which would also take pressure off Lillard to always be at his best.
Worst Destination: Chicago Bulls
If the Bulls are to get Lillard, they would likely have to give up Zach LaVine, a two-time All-Star who averaged 24.8 points a game last year and is an exciting high-fly act, or veteran star wing DeMar DeRozan.
That would leave them with a core of Lillard, LaVine or DeRozan and center Nikola Vucevic. Vucevic could be the odd man out here, as his name has come up in trade rumors lately, and his impact may not be as great as his 17.6 points and 11.0 rebounds a game last season may suggest.
NBA TRADES, NEWS & RUMORS: Damian Lillard, Portland Trail Blazers & Chicago Bulls Updates
The biggest problem here is the fact that the Bulls don’t have the supporting players or structure Miami does. They went 40-42 last season and fell apart down the stretch of their second play-in tournament game against that same Miami team, losing 102-91 with a playoff spot at stake.
In 11 seasons with the Blazers, Lillard has reached the conference finals just once, getting swept there by the Golden State Warriors. It seems very likely the Chicago Bulls would be the elixir for Lillard’s inability to get over the hump in the postseason.
NBA TRADES, NEWS & RUMORS: Damian Lillard, Portland Trail Blazers & Chicago Bulls Updates
It has been reported that Lillard will not report to training camp, which starts just days from now, unless he is a member of the Blazers or Heat. In fact, he may just demand a trade to the Heat if another team acquired him. Some believe that a Lillard trade could be imminent and may end up going down within the next handful of days before training camp begins.
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