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Portland Trail Blazers superstar point guard Damian Lillard requested a trade out of the team on July 1. After 11 seasons with the franchise, Lillard decided that he wanted to move on to a team where he could contend for an NBA title.
However, "Dame Time" then hampered the Blazers’ trade leverage and his chances of being traded quickly. He and his agent made it clear that the Miami Heat are his only preferred trade destination.
Now, weeks later, with no end to the trade saga in sight, it appears that Portland may be trying to keep the star point guard.
According to the Miami Herald’s Anthony Chiang, a credible source is not convinced that the Blazers really want to trade Lillard. Instead, they could be looking to convince their superstar to rescind his trade request.
“I don’t even know if I buy it 100 percent, but someone that has knowledge of what’s going on, they’re not even convinced that Portland wants to trade Damian Lillard at this point,” Chiang said during a recent episode of the 'Heat Check' podcast.
“It almost feels like they’re trying to find a way to maybe change his mind or delay this and see if Dame goes, ‘Well, I’ll just be part of this.’”
Lillard, 33, averaged a career-high 32.2 points, 4.8 rebounds, 7.3 assists, 0.9 steals and 4.2 3-pointers per game on 46.3% shooting in 58 games last season. He is under contract with the Blazers until the end of 2026 with a colossal $63.2 million player option for the 2026-27 NBA season.
So, if the franchise opts to retain him, Lillard may be forced to suit up for Portland next season whether he wants to or not.
Damian Lillard still pursuing trade to Miami
Despite there being little to no traction on a Damian Lillard to Miami Heat deal, it looks like Lillard is not backing down from his trade request. According to ESPN’s Marc J. Spears, the Portland Trail Blazers superstar still wants to end up with the Heat.
Spears added that trade negotiations between Miami and Portland could drag on until the start of training camp in October.
“Dame still wants to go to Miami. That hasn’t changed,” Spears said.
“But there’s a lot of time before training camp starts in October. So, I think Portland is going to milk this as long as they can to get the best deal they can. So, hurry up and wait.”
This correlates with Blazers general manager Joe Cronin’s comments during NBA Summer League. He hinted to reporters that the Lillard trade negotiations could take months.
“We’re going to do what’s best for our team,” Cronin said.
“We’re going to see how this lands. And if it takes months, it takes months.”
All things considered, it appears that there is no end in sight to the Damian Lillard trade saga.
