(Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
Just over two months ago, Damian Lillard asked the Portland Trail Blazers to trade him, but it has been slow going as far as progress on any potential trade.
Lillard had professed his loyalty to the Blazers over the years, even as they failed to put together a championship-caliber team around him and were forced to endure one early playoff exit after another.
He has made it clear the only team he’s interested in being sent to is the Miami Heat — in fact, he reportedly will not report to training camp if he is sent to any other team.
In fact, Aaron Fentress and Chris Mannix, via Dru on Twitter, said no team other than the Heat is interested in trading for Lillard right now, mainly because of his contract.
“There isn’t a team interested in Dame’s contract at the moment” @SIChrisMannix
“Miami’s interested”@AaronJFentress
“But they’re 1 out of 29. There’s no other team out there that’s interested”-CM
“You just said if they play the season, teams are gonna show up wanting Dame”-AF https://t.co/F4cldYYBzm pic.twitter.com/VDMdqEOls4
— Dru (@dru_star) September 15, 2023
They then added that once the new NBA season starts, if Lillard is still in Portland and playing well, there will be another team that will be looking to trade for him.
But right now, the fact that only Miami wants Lillard is bad news for the Blazers, because that means if a trade happens sooner or later, the Blazers will have no leverage and they may be forced to take back a lesser trade package.
Even at age 33, Lillard is still on top of his game — he averaged a career-high 32.2 points a game last season while earning his seventh selection to the All-Star team.
But in his 11 pro seasons, all of which have been with the Blazers, the Blazers haven’t even come close to competing for the world championship.
Lillard is looking to finally get a real shot at earning his first championship ring after all these years.
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