Rumors of Damian Lillard‘s discontent in Portland have been brewing for quite some time and on Friday, there reports that the point guard had requested a trade. Lillard denied that he’s asked out of Portland when speaking with FortyEightMinutes and other media on Friday afternoon, explaining that the rumors are simply “not true.”
“I haven’t made any firm decision on what my future will be,” Lillard told FortyEightMinutes and other media via zoom. “…My intention in my heart is to be in a Trail Blazers uniform my entire career…but over time, you want to win it all.
Lillard reitered that if he were to make any decisions, the message would come from him and he would speak directly with Blazers GM Neil Olshey. The 6-time All-Star went on to say that there was a “conversation to be had” with the Blazers and he met with Olshey and new coach Chauncey Billups in Las Vegas just hours after Team USA concluded practice.
“The best way to put it is to be more urgent about what our next step is and how we move forward,” Lillard said. “We’re not a bad team; we’re a winning team. We’ve got a great environment, we’ve got a great city, we’ve got great fans, there’s a lot of positives.
“I just think we’ve reached that point where it’s like, OK, it’s not enough. Do we actually want to win it all? Is that what we’re shooting for? We’ve got to do things to show that. We’ve got to put action behind that. That desire to win at that level — that’s been my only thing this entire time.”
Which Rival Team Would Be Best For Lillard?
The Knicks, Lakers, Heat, and Warriors were the destinations on Lillard’s early reported shortlist. Golden State may have interest in bringing Lillard to the Bay Area and out of all the teams reported, they arguably have the best assets to offer in a trade with the No. 7 and No. 14 overall picks in his year’s draft in addition to prospect James Wiseman to put on the table.
The Knicks also owns two first-rounders in this year’s draft (No. 19, No. 21) and while they are open to dealing RJ Barrett for Lillard or another available star (such as Bradley Beal), Golden State’s treasure chest of assets bests New York’s. Unless the Heat or Lakers put their All-Star bigs on the table, each franchise will have a tough time beating out the Warriors as well.
The Sixers remain interested in Lillard and as we previously reported, there’s a sense that a Ben Simmons-led package would beat out most anticipated offers. While Philadelphia isn’t on his reported early shortlist, it’s possible that behind the scenes, there’s some sort of informal campaign to open Lillard up on the idea of playing alongside Joel Embiid. However, that’s simply my speculation at this point.
Given all he’s done for the Blazers’ franchise and his status in the league, it would seem likely that the organization won’t send him anywhere he doesn’t want to go, as we previously detailed. No, he doesn’t possess a no-trade clause, but the NBA is about relationships and an ugly split with one of your best stars is the kind of blood-on-your-hands moments that can haunt smaller market franchises like Portland down the line. If Lillard makes a request to leave the Northwest, —which has not happened yet—he’ll undoubtable have a say in the matter.
