The Damian Lillard trade saga rolls on as we hit the late stages of July, and there has been no reported progress on the talks between the Portland Trail Blazers and the Miami Heat. Lillard has expressed his desire to play in South Florida by essentially saying that he won’t play anywhere else, limiting the options for Portland.
Blazers May Look To Keep Damian Lillard After All
Some people around the league believe Portland is trying to save their relationship with Damian Lillard
“They’re not even convinced that Portland wants to trade Damian Lillard at this point. It almost feels like they’re trying to find a way to maybe change his mind or delay… pic.twitter.com/627E5yHyra
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) July 26, 2023
They’ve expressed that they don’t want Tyler Herro in exchange. The young core of players that the Blazers do have in place in guard-centric, and the team has been rumored to be looking for a small forward or a big man in exchange for their superstar. The players that the Heat have to offer don’t exactly fit the bill, which is the assumed cause for the hold up in any proceedings.
The relationship between Damian Lillard and the Trail Blazers has slowly been deteriorating over the years. Widely considered to be perhaps the most loyal star player in the league, Lillard has stood strong for years as the team attempted to surround him with a winning roster.
They were never able to do so, and the best season finish that the Blazers have ever had with Lillard is a sweep in the Western Conference Finals.
Keeping Their Star Could Be The Best Option
Damian Lillard is not budging off his stance of only wanting a trade to Miami, per @MarcJSpears pic.twitter.com/89Gxu3iIPm
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) July 26, 2023
Things finally came to a head this summer when Lillard officially requested a trade back in early July. There had already been rumors circulating that he wanted out, but his request made things official.
According to Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald, the Blazers might believe that they can salvage the relationship between them and Damian Lillard:
I don’t even know if I buy it 100 percent, but someone that has knowledge of what’s going on, they’re not even convinced that Portland wants to trade Damian Lillard at this point. It almost feels like they’re trying to find a way to maybe change his mind or delay this and see if Dame goes, ‘Well, I’ll just be part of this.’
Some people think that maybe Portland is trying to salvage this.
It would certainly be a long shot to believe that Lillard would want to stay put after all of this flirting with the trade market and the Miami Heat.
But given how talks have transpired thus far, Portland may believe that attempting to keep the star player is now their best option going forward. There are angles that they can take given Lillard’s familiarity with the city and franchise, and can perhaps tap into his loyalty one last time.
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