Sports
NBA Rumors: Damian Lillard Would Request Heat Trade If Dealt Elsewhere by Blazers – Bleacher Report
Portland Trail Blazers star point guard Damian Lillard is so adamant about his desire to be traded to the Miami Heat that if he’s traded to another team, he will reportedly request that franchise to send him to South Beach as well.
“If Lillard is traded to a team other than Miami, he is expected to ask to be traded to the Heat,” Barry Jackson and Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald reported on Wednesday.
The Heat and Blazers have been linked for the entire offseason after Lillard requested to be traded from Portland after 11 years with the team. While it was initially reported that the seven-time All-Star was open to trades to the Philadelphia 76ers and Brooklyn Nets among other potential landing spots, it quickly became clear that Miami was his preferred destination.
However, the Heat have yet to offer the Blazers a return worthy of trading their face of the franchise, which has completely hindered negotiations.
“A source said this week that Portland generally has continued to be reluctant to engage the Heat in serious talks and has acted disinterested in getting a deal done quickly with Miami, though that conceivably could change as the start of training camp approaches in early October,” Jackson and Chiang stated.
While it’s been reported that Portland’s “recent focus has been discussions with other teams, not Miami,” Lillard’s determination to get to Miami will undoubtedly have an effect on the offers the Blazers receive.
“He says he only wants to play in Miami,” ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski said Tuesday. “That kind of dulls the offers a little bit. Portland is trying to put together a number of multiteam scenarios to see if they can get the assets back they want.”
With the start of training camp quickly approaching, it’s clear that the Blazers will have to figure out a resolution sooner rather than later.