Much has been discussed about Damian Lillard’s future with the Portland Trail Blazers of late, and in a recent development, the superstar guard reportedly has the Miami Heat and the Brooklyn Nets on his trade list.
Lillard going East has been one of the rumors doing the rounds, and speaking on The Dan Patrick Show, NBA insider Chris Haynes said, “I’ll leave it at the Nets and Miami.” He also said that Lillard would not want to go to the Boston Celtics in a trade.
.@ChrisBHaynes on which teams would be on Damian Lillard's trade list:
"I'll leave it at the Nets and Miami."
Haynes said earlier in this segment that he's in frequent contact with Lillard (Via @dpshow) pic.twitter.com/up6Q5l1RL3
— Erik Slater (@erikslater_) June 8, 2023
On his part, Lillard took to Instagram Live to shed more light, saying that he intended to stay with Portland and compete for a title.
He further added: “About the podcast I did, I keep seeing this clip about Miami and everything. If y’all watched the whole interview, you’ll see he asked me about specific teams and I just answered the question. When people just answer questions honestly, y’all take it and run with it. I was answering the question bruh. At the end of that same interview, he asked me ‘do you think you will be in a Trail Blazer uniform in October’ and I said yes I do.”
Lillard played 58 games and averaged 32.2 points, 7.3 assists, and 4.8 rebounds, but the team failed to breach the playoff barrier. They were rewarded with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2023 draft, but they will need to pull off more solid moves if they intend to keep the 32-year-old in their ranks.
The Trail Blazers Would Move Damian Lillard To The East Team Of His Choice
In tandem with Haynes’ news of Lillard picking the Heat or the Nets, another development that did the rounds was Portland moving him to any Eastern Conference team of his choice.
“If it gets to that point, they would consult with Dame. He’s been there 10 years, he’s been a model citizen, represented that city and organization with class. I think they would try to get him where he wants to go in the East.”
While this back-and-forth will continue well into the offseason, there’s no telling what the future holds in store. Chances are that Lillard may indeed leave the Blazers if they don’t make the win-now moves to give him and the team a better shot at winning the title.
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