The big saga going on during this NBA offseason has been Damian Lillard‘s trade request from the Portland Trail Blazers. Dame has made it clear that he’s only interested in joining the Miami Heat, leaving the situation at a bit of an impasse.
There are certainly several conversations about Lillard and a potential trade going on behind the scenes, but the Blazers have an option to not move their superstar as well. And an NBA insider has now claimed that this is exactly what the team might be looking to do.
“Someone even told me — and I thought this was interesting, but I don’t even know if I buy it 100% — but someone that has knowledge of what’s going on is convinced that Portland doesn’t even want to trade Damian Lillard at this point,” Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald stated on the Heat Check podcast.
“It almost feels like they’re trying to find a way to change his mind or delay this where Damian will say ‘Well, I’ll just be part of this.’”
Damian Lillard is under contract till 2027, so the team technically has no reason to trade him despite his request. Many expected that their long relationship and Portland’s inability to put a contender around him might make this an easy trade, but that has been far from the truth so far.
The Miami Heat have a very negligible package to offer for Dame compared to some other teams in the league, but his lack of interest in moving anywhere else might be forcing the Blazers’ hand. The situation has the potential to get truly ugly moving forward, and fans will be hoping that it doesn’t go that far.
The Damian Lillard Trade Saga Has No Quick End In Sight
If the Portland Trail Blazers continue to hold firm, then it might take months for a deal to materialize. They might even decide to not trade him before the season begins and see how he reacts to that. Adrian Wojnarowski reported a while ago that there is no quick resolution to this situation and that it might drag long into the offseason.
Damian Lillard had the most productive offensive season of his career last year. He averaged 32.2 points and 7.3 assists per game for the Blazers. At this point in his career, he may not want to stay with a franchise he has burned some bridges with. It seems like a waiting game to see who will fold first at this point, the Trail Blazers or Damian Lillard.
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