It has been well over a week now since Damian Lillard privately requested a trade from the Trail Blazers, and yet it seems GM Joe Cronin is under no pressure at all to send his franchise star to his preferred destination.
With four years left on his deal, Dame doesn’t have complete control over this situation, and there’s still a risk that some other team steps up to make an offer in spite of his insistence on joining the Heat. This could be the reason why, according to Sports Illustrated’s Chris Mannix, Portland is being forced to literally encourage teams to make their best offers for Lillard.
“Here’s the reality: On a Lillard trade, the Blazers are nowhere. Miami, Lillard’s preferred destination, has made an offer. Portland doesn’t like it. The Blazers have encouraged other teams to make offers. So far there haven’t been any, at least not serious ones. Whether it’s Lillard’s contract (with four years and north of $200 million left on it) or his Miami-or-bust messaging (as delivered by Lillard’s agent, Aaron Goodwin), a market beyond South Florida has not materialized. And the Heat know it.”
Dame and his agent have been adamant that any team besides the Heat who dares to trade for Lillard will be getting an ‘unhappy’ star, but would he really refuse to play with so much time left on his contract?
There are doubts that Lillard would consider that course of action, but it still makes acquiring him a great risk for any team other than Miami.
Blazers GM Admits Lillard Trade Could Take Months
At this point, any expert will tell you that Lillard to Miami is the most likely outcome in all of this, but the Heat don’t yet have the assets to make this trade happen. Over the next few weeks, look for Miami to work at building up the pieces needed to make a compelling offer.
“I think the teams that have ended up in the most positive situations post-trade have been the ones that have been really diligent in taking their time,” Cronin said. “They’ve not been impulsive, or the teams that really kept their urgency under control. I think that’s how my approach has been with this and will be with this. We’re going to be patient, we’re going to do what’s best for our team, we’re going to see how this lands. And if this takes months, it takes months.”
Only time will tell how this saga ends, but the Blazers don’t intend to trade Lillard for pennies on the dollar. They will do whatever it takes to maximize their return, even if it means getting other teams involved.
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