The Damian Lillard trade saga doesn’t seem like it might come to an end anytime soon. Most insiders seem to think it will drag on for a while. He only wants a move to the Miami Heat, but the Portland Trail Blazers want to get a great haul in return.
After his agent and Lillard himself have made it clear that he will not move anywhere that’s not Miami, many teams seemingly dropped their interest. And Shams Charania recently mentioned the Los Angeles Clippers and Boston Celtics as potential candidates.
“When a team is trying to trade for a superstar, you usually wanna back-channel and do some research,” Shams Charania said on the Pat McAfee Show. “See does this guy wanna be here, what is his mindset, does he want to play for us, how would he feel if we traded for him?
“And yeah, in those cases where teams have done their back-channel research to find out what Dame is thinking… Whether it’s the Clippers, whether it’s the Celtics, those are among the two teams that have a level of interest in trading for Damian Lillard. The answer’s been a resounding no. He wants to be in Miami, period.”
The Clippers and Celtics have “a level of interest” in acquiring Damian Lillard, per @ShamsCharania on @PatMcAfeeShow (https://t.co/iY1OA9Zdbj).
However, Lillard is only willing to sign off on joining the Heat:
“He doesn’t have a no-trade clause, but he kinda has something… pic.twitter.com/xBHL3YTJ56
— Evan Sidery (@esidery) July 11, 2023
Damian Lillard’s agent has gone as far as to call teams and tell them that he will not play for them even if they do trade for him. His desire to go to the Heat is very strong, that’s pretty much all he cares about. But the fact that these teams are still interested in him shows that they think maybe his mind can be changed. It’s hard to say if it will, though, Lillard has always been quite stubborn throughout his career.
The Los Angeles Clippers Have Also Been Linked With James Harden
Damian Lillard isn’t the only big star on the trade market, even James Harden has asked for a move away from the Philadelphia 76ers. And the Los Angeles Clippers have constantly been mentioned as a potential candidate to trade for him. With all these reports, it would appear as if they seriously want to make a Big 3 with Kawhi Leonard and Paul George.
At this point, it is hard to see Lillard landing anywhere other than the Miami Heat. He is trying his best to get there, and surely a deal will be found eventually. If it isn’t though, there are other teams waiting in the wings to swoop in.
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