NBA rumors: Blazers’ high asking price for a Damian Lillard trade revealed originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
Damian Lillard’s future with the Portland Trail Blazers is going to dominate NBA storylines throughout the summer.
The superstar point guard requested a trade more than a week ago but no deal has been made yet. The Miami Heat reportedly are his preferred destination, but they don’t have as many appealing trade assets as lots of other teams do.
What exactly are the Blazers looking to acquire in a Lillard trade? Quite a bit, as you might imagine.
Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian reported last Friday that the Blazers “are seeking in the neighborhood of four first-round picks and two quality players. But accomplishing that could require adding a third team to the equation.”
Celtics Talk: What comes next after the Celtics deal Grant Williams to Mavericks? | Listen & Subscribe | Watch on YouTube
There’s really no incentive for the Heat to offer this kind of package if Lillard only has interest in playing for Miami. Why bid against yourself? So, the Blazers are going to have to accept a lesser package to send Lillard to the Heat or find another team interested in Lillard that is also confident he’ll be fine playing there.
Advertisement
Lillard will soon turn 33 (July 15 is his birthday), so he’s not exactly a young player. That said, he’s still one of the best scorers in the league and should remain in that tier for a few more years. Lillard averaged a career-high 32.2 points over 58 games last season, which ranked third in the league. He has averaged 25.2 points per game in his career, along with 37.2 percent shooting from 3-point range. He has two years and around $93 million left on his contract.
Aside from the Heat, which other teams could be in the mix for Lillard?
The Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers have been speculated as potential landing spots for Lillard. The Sixers reportedly aren’t willing to include Tyrese Maxey in any deal, and it seems unlikely that the C’s would dangle All-NBA wing Jaylen Brown. However, Sports Illustrated’s Chris Mannix told 98.5 The Sports Hub’s “Toucher & Rich” show last week that there could be a way for the Celtics to acquire Lillard without giving up Brown.
“I think you can get Lillard without Jaylen Brown,” Mannix said. “There’s a version of this story where Lillard could wind up in Boston and the Celtics wouldn’t have to give up Jaylen Brown. I mean, they’d have to give up basically everything else, whether it’s Robert Williams, Derrick White (and) every draft pick they’ve got over the next six years.”
It’s going to be an interesting summer for the Blazers. Lillard has been a great face of the franchise, so if a trade can be worked out with his preferred team (the Heat), that would be a nice way to say thanks for his contributions to Portland. But at the same time, the Blazers cannot afford to take a bad deal. This trade could make or break the Blazers’ rebuild, and if one team offers a lot more than the Heat, Portland should strongly consider taking it, even if that makes Lillard unhappy.
Services Marketplace – Listings, Bookings & Reviews
