(Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)
The Portland Trail Blazers and their fans have been in waiting throughout the summer, awaiting what may or will happen with Damian Lillard.
He asked to be traded early in the offseason, and he made it clear that wants to be traded to the Miami Heat, and only the Heat.
The two teams have made little, if any, progress on a potential trade, and it is looking more and more likely that Lillard will still be a member of the Blazers when training camp begins in a couple of weeks.
Insider Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN says that while he feels Lillard won’t be unprofessional about the situation, it will be “uncomfortable” and possibly “unpleasant.”
“I think people expect, both in Portland and around the league, it will be uncomfortable, it may be unpleasant, but it won’t be unprofessional.”@wojespn on whether Damian Lillard will show up to Trail Blazers training camp if he’s not traded.pic.twitter.com/bCzzqibZjb
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) September 15, 2023
Lillard has played all 11 of his NBA seasons in Portland, and during that time, the team has failed to put together a championship-caliber squad around him.
The Blazers have gotten much younger over the last couple of years, and this is as good a time as any for them to trade him and get as many assets as they can for him.
The problem is that the Heat are currently the only team interested in Lillard, which means Portland has little leverage on the open market and may have to take back an underwhelming package.
One reason for the lack of interest may be Lillard’s contract, which runs through the 2026-27 season, when he will be 36 years of age.
Behind Anfernee Simons, Jerami Grant, and incoming rookie stud Scoot Henderson, the Blazers have a solid young core, and perhaps a satisfactory package of draft picks and one useful young player could be enough for them to move forward.
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