Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard has requested a trade out of Portland, sources tell Chris Haynes of TNT and Bleacher Report (Twitter link). The team is expected to work to accommodate the request, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Ramona Shelburne (Twitter link).
Lillard’s future in Portland has been the subject of speculation for several years, as the team hasn’t made it out of the first round of the postseason since 2019 and has missed the playoffs entirely in each of the last two seasons.
The seven-time All-Star, who has spent his entire 11-year NBA career with the Trail Blazers, has repeatedly expressed his loyalty to the organization and conveyed a desire to stick it out in Portland. However, Lillard – who will turn 33 later this month – has also made it clear that he wants to have a chance to contend for a championship during his remaining prime years.
Lillard spoke earlier this year about his preference that the Blazers look to build out their roster with veterans rather than prioritizing youth. So when the franchise landed the No. 3 overall pick in this year’s draft, there was a sense that what Portland did with that selection would significantly influence Lillard’s next move.
Rather than trading the No. 3 pick for an impact player, the Blazers kept it and drafted Scoot Henderson, a 19-year-old guard who has superstar upside but who will need some time to develop at the NBA level. Portland also reached an agreement on a five-year, $160MM deal with free agent forward Jerami Grant on Friday, but Lillard has apparently determined that the team’s moves early in the offseason won’t substantially increase its chances of contending in the short term.
According to Shelburne (Twitter link), Lillard considered asking for a trade when he met with the Blazers’ front office on Monday, but wanted to give them every opportunity to make roster upgrades this week. He decided on Friday night to request a move, Shelburne adds.
Haynes initially reported (via Twitter) the Heat and Nets are the preferred landing spots for the former No. 6 overall pick. Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports adds (via Twitter) that no other teams – including the Sixers – are on Lillard’s wish list for now, though Shelburne (Twitter link) adds that he has a “deep respect” for the Spurs.
While Brooklyn could put together a competitive offer of players and draft picks, it sounds like Lillard is focused specifically on Miami. League sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link) that the Blazers were told that Dame wants to end up with the Heat.
Lillard spoke to some Heat players recently about how a deal might work, tweets Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press. According to Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald (Twitter link), the star guard loves the city of Miami, is good friends with Bam Adebayo, has “great respect” for Jimmy Butler, and views the Heat as a legitimate contender.
Lillard doesn’t have a no-trade clause, so he could be dealt to any team, but the Blazers likely won’t want to reward his 11 years of service to the franchise by sending him somewhere he doesn’t want to be. If Portland does open up the Lillard sweepstakes to other suitors, Philadelphia would have interest in exploring a deal, as would the Clippers, tweets Wojnarowski.
The Heat are expected to “vigorously” pursue a trade for Lillard, according to Jackson and Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. Miami was reportedly in the mix for Bradley Beal in June, but after Phoenix traded for the longtime Wizards star, reports indicated that the Heat were focused on Lillard and were willing to wait for him to ask out of Portland.
A Miami offer for Lillard would almost certainly include at least two of Tyler Herro, Kyle Lowry, and Duncan Robinson. The Heat also have at least two tradable future first-round picks (2028 and 2030) and could sweeten their offer by attaching young prospects such as Nikola Jovic or 2023 first-rounder Jaime Jaquez, or a veteran on a team-friendly contract like Caleb Martin. They could also offer multiple first-round pick swaps.
According to Wojnarowski, the Trail Blazers will prioritize young players and draft picks in their Lillard trade negotiations. In Henderson and 2022 lottery pick Shaedon Sharpe, the club already has two young potential cornerstones to build around.
He needs more Cowbell and MORE Modelo Beer
Looks like someone is running from the grind
Blazers don’t have a good GM
Heat don’t have good trade assets
I agree especially now after losing Strus and Vincent
It doesn’t matter. Portland is rewarding his loyalty by sending him where he want to go ….. Miami
We will see. Other teams have better packages.
GM has to do what is right for Portland. I doubt Blazers fans will be happy if they find out that either Maxey or Bridges were potentially available and all they got was overrated, I play zero defense, Tyler Herro and a bunch of Heat picks.
They already know. Portland is working to send him to Miami right now. Why do you think Oladipo got traded last night?
Because they think Portland will trade with them…
But Dame does not have a no trade clause, so if Philly ponies up Maxey, this is over.
Or the GM is a fool and will be fired next season.
Could always be a three team deal.
I agree.
Portland needs to assert their leverage here. If Miami can’t offer first round picks until 5 years from now, they should immediately eliminate them from consideration (unless they give Portland Bam, which they won’t).
I love and respect Dame but let’s not pretend Portland hasn’t paid him a lot of money over 11 years. Two way street and they need to trade him for the absolute best return they can get.
Portland wants to be loyal to Dame, who could have made the request years ago. Portland also doesn’t want to alienate other players in the league by playing “hardball” with Dame. That would be suicide when trying to get free agents to Portland.
They can’t attract free agents as it is. That’s been the problem.
Yeah, because who would choose to be in the city of Portland? Garbage city and garbage fan base.
like they said if Portland is truly prioritizing young players in draft picks the only thing that Sixers really have to offer is Maxie. they don’t have any pics that are worthwhile and then the only other young player on the team they could have even the slightest bit of trade value maybe Paul Reed
They’ll pass on Maxey. #1 They’ve got their PG; #2 Maxey’s stats are inflated because everyone is gaurding Embiid. If he goes to POR, he won’t have that luxury. Could he rise to the occasion? maybe, but why take a risk?
Would need 3 1st round picks plus a solid asset back. Funny how many fans thinks it is a dump of money when Portland will want future picks and solid players coming back.
Mikal Bridges is not available after the efforts the Nets put into retaining Cam Johnson. If the Nets were to present an offer, it would probably be Dinwiddie, DFS, Claxton, and Thomas to cover Dame’s cap hit. There’s no way the Blazers would take Ben and O’Neale and Sumner wouldn’t excite them other than them being one-year guarantees in any deal. If Claxton goes out, the Nets would probably have to absorb Nurkic in Durant’s TPE. They could also absorb smaller contracts in smaller TPEs. Several picks would go to Portland as well. I highly doubt this will happen, though.
Nets offer
Ben Simmons, Cam Thomas AND
a 2025 first-round pick from Brooklyn (via Phoenix),
a 2027 first-round pick from Brooklyn (via Philadelphia),
a 2028 first-round pick from Brooklyn
a 2029 first-round pick from Brooklyn (via Dallas)
Nets have total of 10 first round picks AVAILABLE FOR TRADE
2 Firsts 2023 (Noah Clowney, Dariq Whitehead)
4 Firsts from Suns (Durant deal?)
1 First from 76ers (Harden deal?)
1 First from Mavs (Irving deal?)
2 First Nets (2028, 2030)
Nets can easily defeat Heat offer.
Lowry – overpaid
Herro – overpaid
Problem is nobody wants Simmons.
See my idea above. Simmons is basically untradeable now. He has to show improvement this year before anyone would consider it.
No way Blazers accept a deal that includes Ben Simmons.
The following 5 teams have no assets to defeat Nets offer.
Lakers
Clippers
Heat
Knicks
76ers
he don’t even want to go to the nets they not no contender with him
This divorce is at least 2 years too late.
Damian Lillard will definitely be going to either the Miami Heat or the Brooklyn Nets.
Portland Trail Blazers will be better off getting draft picks and rebuilding with Scoot Henderson and Shaedon Sharpe.
Well this certainly makes the Grant signing seem odd. He must have litteraly made up his mind last night. I don’t see any offer the Heat could make that gets the deal done unless it included Bam. Brooklyn makes a ton of sense
Nah it’s just going to be Hero amd draft picks, plus Kyle as the salary filler. Similar to what Durant cost, but obviously a player not as good as Bridges since Dame is < Durant
No way that gets it done. Brooklyn can out together a far superior offer.
Blazers will resist that. That’s a crap offer since Miami has only its own picks, which are gonna be mid to late 20’s. It’s not in the ballpark of what PHX gave up for KD. It’s possible Dame says Miami or bust and then the Blazers are screwed, but if there’s ANYTHING else on the table he’ll accept they will. Unfortunately for the Heat that’s pretty much all they can offer short of sending Bam.
It’s a 2028 and 2030 pick. By then Dame and Jimmy will be 38 and Riley (83 then) won’t be running the team anymore.
Those will probably be top 10 picks for a rebuilding franchise.
Scoot and Sharpe will be 24 and 25 in their primes. Which will give Portland a lot of ability to add to build a contender at a point where LeBron will be out of the league, Jokic will be slowing down, etc.
It’s not as bad a package as it looks like.
I’m thinking that’s what went through Damian Lillard’s mind. Don’t you wait and sign your bird right guys AFTER you bring in new Talent with cap space? Since the Blazer signed at Jeremi Grant to huge money now they don’t have room to bring in anyone else? That’s a big indication Blazers are going nowhere so Lillard says I want out.
Has to be a three or four team deal because Miami doesn’t have enough to do a two team trade.
Sad day. I don’t ever want to hear another person criticize a player for ring chasing. Beal and Dame both were chastised for being loyal to their teams. They both succumbed to the pressure. Sad day.
In fairness to Dame and Beal. The teams they bailed were not even playoff teams. There’s a big difference between leaving a contender that doesn’t win a ring (like Durant, Harden) and leaving a mediocre team that doesn’t even come close.
Doesn’t matter….at all. Dame and Beal were publicly chastised for wanting to stay with their perspective teams even if they weren’t serious contenders
I think there were just as many basketball fans who loved the fact both Damian Lillard and Bradley Beal were loyal. No problem there at all, get your money, play ball, do your best. No higher percentage of chastisement than 50% of fans imo
Yeah, no.
Lillard and Beal only carried that loyalty talk until they signed those huge contracts. After that, they basically retired.
Dame had a 71 point game last season… wouldn’t call that retiring. Portland knew they were on borrowed time as soon as they traded McCollum. Not Dames fault the roster has been awful.
Weird timing. Who’s got the salary match plus loads of picks and prospects? Nets maybe. Pelicans? Could this be Zion’s new home? Makes some sense to flip the old Blazers backcourt for each other.
It’s the heat. There isn’t another team.
The heat don’t have the assets to iuk it off unless they trade Bam. Tyler Herro is not enough by a long shot
Yea I am not sure what the return will be , it’s just kinda foregone assumption based on the rumblings. I think other teams can outbid the heat easily but who wants a superstar that has a preference these days. Both Kawhi and PG eventually ended up where they wanted to go in LA.
Heat don’t need Assets here. Portland is rewarding Dame’s loyalty by sending him where he wants to go …. Miami.
The take is nonsense. Portland is not going to end up short in terms of value when the dust settles.
Portland is ONLY speaking with Miami. We have known for months what the framework of the deal will be. Only real question is whether or not Tyler Herro is included in the deal.
Dame is not going to Brooklyn or the New York Knicks. Both would be a significant pay cut from what Miami can pay him. Florida does not have a state income tax.
Loyalty is a two way street. They’ve paid him a lot of $.
Trade him to whoever gives up the best package. That won’t be Miami unless the Portland GM is the dumbest human on earth (which he may be).
He could have got that money anywhere. That’s such a weak argument. He is top 75 all time. He could have requested 5 years ago he could have got paid at a 7/11
Nah. Portland not gonna just give in. Look at what the Pelicans got for AD when the dust finally settled, even though he said Lakers or bust. Blazers will say no thanks to the Herro-and-nothing offer (heck, Herro and Lowry would actually require the BLAZERS to add a piece), and Dame will just have to wait or accept another destination. Maybe Herro and Caleb Martin and Jovic gets there.
But Dame isnt saying he only wants to go to Heat so it isn’t Heat or bust. If Brooklyn or Philly want in the mix, they can offer a better package and he already mentioned Brooklyn as one of his preferred teams.
Correct. Dame will not want to go somewhere if the assets he’s looking forward to having as teammates are sent in the other direction. If he goes to Miami, they have to have Bam and Butler. If he goes to the Nets, they have to have Mikal Bridges and Cam Johnson. If you remove those assets from the equation, the Nets have the ability to put together a better offer. The Blazers will definitely want Claxton in that offer.
Harden, Korkmaz, Petrusev & a couple of picks should be enough for the 76ers to bring Dame to Philly
Portland doesn’t want Harden. Brooklyn is the frontrunner
What can Brooklyn give them that would be more appealing than Harden/Korkmaz/Petrusev/picks?
Bridges
Yes! Bridges. Gotta give up a pick or two as well.
No way. Playing with the “twins” is the enticement for Dame. Similarly, Harden will not want to go to Portland if Dame isn’t there. Portland will not want Ben, so the Nets offer will have to include Claxton and will probably also have Dinwiddie, DFS, and Thomas for salary matching along with picks. The Nets would probably have to use TPEs to absorb players from Portland for roster balancing. Durant’s TPE would cover Nurkic. Smaller TPEs could cover other players.
Why on earth would Portland consider Harden even a positive? They’re freakin’ rebuilding! Nets can offer Dinwiddie, Finney-Smith, O’Neale, and a ton of draft capital.
Lol. They wouldn’t even be enough to get his jersey with Dame in it.
What is your reasoning behind that statement…
Why would the blazers want Harden around the young players like Henderson. He has been labeled a cancer and a guy who doesn’t care about winning. Why would u bring that into a rebuild. Also any deal for Dame would start with Maxey(he is the sixers best trade chip)
What year was the last losing team harden was apart of? And I’m not talking about the force out 6 games with the rockets.
When was the last time Harden won a playoff series? Houston?
What does that have to do with harden going to a rebuilding blazers team. I literally just watched him and Embiid quit in game 7 of a 2nd rd matchup with Boston. Literally QUIT
Harden is chubby turd who is well past his prime. Just stop.
Any deal with Philly starts with Maxey.
Portland alr has Ant Simons & Scoot Henderson, they don’t really need a guy like Maxey
They dont want a young all star that can play the 2 and put next to Scoot and Simons?
But they want Tyler Herro?
Ok!@
When did I say anything about Tyler Herro? I specifically mentioned James Harden plus other pieces
Maybe a 3 team trade with Clippers, Philly and Portland
Maxey would need to be part of the deal to make any sense for Portland
I can’t see Portland wanting any part of Harden or Harden wanting to be in Portland. Unless there is a 3rd team that Harden gets re-routed to, Portland will want Maxey or no deal.
I could see Harden wanting to go to Portland. It’s no secret he has a strip club addiction and Portland has more clubs then anywhere in pretty sure.
The sixers are stuck in purgatory with an inept GM and zero trade assets outside of Maxey. Portland isn’t even listening without Maxey in the deal. Maxey plus Harris and his contract is probably the starting point
And that is probably the best deal they can get unless Brooklyn includes Bridges.
Bridges is flat out a better player than Dame right now, and way WAY more valuable given their contracts. That’s a non-starter.
Portland wouldnt want any of those 3. HOwever, they could be included as salary fillers but not as assets. Philly would need to include Maxey and serious draft capital to get that deal done.
If I’m Pat Riley, I’d try and get dame anyway possible without losing trading butler and Bam.
Dame will love NYK, they have most of the picks.
Jazz need a point guard?
Nets a contender? hhmm
Heat got no assets to give.
He wants to go to a contending team
I’d peg the Knicks at a 0% chance but I guess you never know. Their package would have to be RJ, Toppin, and a boatload of picks.
I see Brooklyn perhaps but would they contend as he wants to go to a contender. Granted should have gone elsewhere sooner than now. I feel for Scoot and not having a vet like Lillard.
Brooklyn with a big three of Bridges, Cam Johnson, and Dame is absolutely a contender.
Agreed. Dame would not want to go there if either of those two is sent back in the other direction. Same goes for Miami re Bam and Butler.
Feels odd this happening after the Grant deal. But idk seemed inevitable for some time now
I fully expected he’d do this either this off-season or mid season. Portland should trade him to the team that gives them what they request in return and not allow Dame to dictate where he goes.
CP3 and Kuminga and Lillard gets to come home.
Why would either team do that deal – especially Portland?
This guy keeps repeatedly putting Kuminga in trade scenarios, its wild. GSW has stated up front he’s staying, plus he’s very good and cheap, so because of their salary/tax situation they cant move him even if they wanted to. Also Dame is from Oakland, not San Francisco. He’s not “coming home” unless you mean to the broader Bay Area.
Dame has repeatedly said GSW belongs to Curry and he’d never play with him while they were both in their primes, like only maybe in the last year of career he would come to GSW, but even then, its just never going to happen. The Warriors are Steph Curry’s team and Dame knows it because he could never beat him in the playoffs.
“This guy” has like two total posts in the NBA section but good to know what triggers you into a multiple paragraph diatribe. Answer: pretty much anything
I bet you’re a fun guy to hang out with when you’re not refreshing the Trade Rumor comment section all day.
Trade Simons, Nurkic little and picks for veteran SG SF and C all starters. Keep Dame happy
It will be a 3 or 4 team deal. I think many of you are expecting too much comp coming back to Portland. Dame will dictate where he goes and as a result the comp will not be that high. Dame to Philly. Harden to Clippers or Knicks. Other teams?
Lowry/Robinson/Jovic/Highsmith/3 1sts/3 pick swaps/3 2nds. That’d be pretty decent for a guy forcing a trade.
Sure, but 5 other teams could offer that same package
Are 5 other teams even interested? He’s a win now move. How many teams right now even need an all-star point guard to make a push for a championship? Philly, Clippers, maybe Lakers? Can’t really see them putting together a better package than Miami. Philly maybe if Portland would take Harden
That is a great deal if you want Dame to go to Brookyn or Philly.
Portland: pass. We want Adebayo (-_-)
A pile of bad contracts/players who Portland doesn’t want isn’t a decent offer
Lol I was going to say. That’s 4 garbage players and some end of the round picks. Not close.
Portland was never serious about building a championship team around Dame. Good for him
I disagree. Players have to want to come to Portland the same way no one wanted to come to Cleveland at first.
Absolutely, but Portland had a bunch of resources available to trade and chose not to improve. They wanted to rebuild and that’s fine but if I’m a Blazer fan I’m pissed my team didn’t try harder to build a legit contender around him.
They tried. They’ve been stuck in the mediocre middle most of his time there. Small market teams are better off tanking and going the OKC route of collecting picks and high upside young talent if they want to build a championship contender. Scoot and Sharpe are a good starting point.
With the grant signing and NOW he requests a trade. Bad Carmel.
4 Team Trade Idea:
Heat: Dame, Nance Jr
Trail Blazers: Herro, Valanciunas, Ball
Pelicans: Caruso, Nurkic
Bulls: Lowry
Bulls: pass
Portland: pass
The Bulls get Lowry and get rid of Ball’s contract. Lowry and DeRozen reunite and both of their contracts expire after next season, so more cap space for the Bulls. Blazers aren’t going anywhere without Dame, so they can hold Lonzo on their books and get Herro. Val also expires after next season on the Blazers and they can get rid of Nurkic’s long-term money.
So basically Blazers are trading Dame just to get out from Nurkic’s contract (which isn’t that bad at $17.5 for 3 more years) with no real assets back to them? They are looking for young players and draft picks and you suggest the only asset they get is Herro. I doubt Portland even wants Herro but if they do trade with Miami he will be part of the package.
This man really just suggested Lonzo Ball in a trade.
The Bulls would be able to get off of Lonzo’s contract and Lowry’s contract expires at the end of next year, so they’ll have more cap space and will be able to reunite DeRozen and Lowry. DeRozen’s contract also ends at the end of next year.
Blazers get damaged good Ball and overpaid Herro without 8 First Round Picks?
Lillard = 5 Firsts
Ball – 2 Firsts attached
Herro – 1 First attached
Imagine waking up as a blazers fan and dame is gone and your front office got back lonzo ball.
The Blazers are really just getting Herro. Lonzo is just a hold on their books for cap reasons.
Portland passes. They already have a center and the return is horrible – Ball? That’s funny.
So the Blazers trade away Lillard (and Nurkic) and all they get back is Herro, one season of Valanciunas, and a guy who might never play again on a big contract? How does that make sense for the Blazers?
Picks would also be involved going to the Blazers. I just didn’t get that detailed. This could be their chance to get something back for Lillard and set themselves up for a better future with picks. It also makes all teams involved more competitive.
why even do that and take Ball’s contract? If they trade with Miami they could take Lowry’s contract that would be off the books in 1 year. Lowry could also be an asset at trade deadline as an expiring deal. Ball just puts a bad contract on their books for multiple years. Chicago would need to give Portland back their 1st and include a lot more for Portland to take that deal.
“Picks would also be involved going to the Blazers. I just didn’t get that detailed.”
Given the package you laid out, the picks would be the most important thing going to Portland. So you should probably be detailed because you’d need to add like three 1sts to that to get Portland to listen. Herro, one season of Valanciunas, and Ball’s contract is a horrible package without the picks.
This isnt MLB, none of these fake trades the peanut gallery ever makes up in here comes true. Please don’t bother posting them, you will never be even 25% close to reality. MLB has a lot more pre-trade logic than NBA, so these types of posts make more sense and are more fun on that side of this site because there’s tiers of prospects, you can get close if you nail the tiers.
Why now though? I dont get it…Portland just had to move Simons, and they were only a piece or 2 away. They had a good draft too. Now they probably should still be looking to move Simons to a third team, of they’re getting Herro from the Heat. I could also see Lowry being moved somewhere else, like Philly or potentially Toronto, but definitely Simons is someone they’ve probably tried to move the whole time.
As a Heat fan, I would prefer to continue with what we’re already doing. I dont see the need to trade assets/multiple players for Lillard, especially with it not really adding anything skillset wise, while subtracting something important in that way, while also paying twice the money for him. He isnt the kind of player I would be willing to trade for personally, as I’ve said. Big fan of Lillard, and if things were different, I could see it making more sense, but I think the Heat have a better outlook without doing that right now.
Admittedly, Richardson does make it more viable, but then they still have the same needs as before
Not really sure who Brooklyn can include b/c they already moved Joe Harris
So you are fine with Lowry as your starting PG going into the season?
Gabe Vincent is now a Laker
Heat have Richardson now. Also if they add the right 4, Lowry could easily start again with Duncan Robinson, or they can just do Herro and Richardson b/c Richardson is the perfect person next to Herro and Duncan. Actually makes Herro a more viable starter
That being said, I forgot to add the new CBA makes it even harder for me to see a reason to do this for the Heat. You give up Lowry, and his expiring, plus picks, to trade Herro for a similar skillset guy for more than double the money, to pay Lillard 6th 3 million in a couple of years…
That just doesnt make sense to me
In what world does Tyler Herro have the same skillset as Lillard?
Similar…
He is a ball stopping scoring guard that can space the floor, playmake off the dribble, isnt much of a half court scorer yet, cold blooded in the biggest moments
The Heat already have Jimmy Butler and Bam. Their offense doesnt work like that, which is why Herro is best off the bench b/c when he has the ball in his hands, they dont
With Lillard with the ball in his hands way more often, and definitely as a starter, they’ll have non shooters like Jimmy and Bam off the ball. I think it fits with the right pieces there, if they get them, but I dont think it’s worth compared to the cost, and I think the reason they worked better with a guy like Nnamdi in the playoffs is b/c he isnt a ball stopper, and plays off those guys, and defends, while also being able to space the floor
I just dont see how they would be better
A piece or two away from what? The talent is there via Scoot and Sharpe, but it will take time to marinate. At that point Dame could be pushing 35 years old. If he wants to be the lead guy on a championship roster, the time to act is now (or before, really). Plus, should he really have any faith in a front office/ownership group that has been generally mediocre to this point? I know I wouldn’t. It’s not like Scoot was a difficult pick, for instance.
Lillard wanted his vets and didn’t get them. Whether right or wrong, he’s decided to move on. I can understand it.
Just need another wing option at the 2/3, a floor spacing big, and to get rid of Simons. I could see it being difficult to get rid of Simons, but I could see a deal there for them with Orlando…I also still think theyd have to move Simons somewhere if they’re getting Herro, or even Cam Thomas from Brokklyn, or 1 of the Spurs young guards
I dont get this narrative, or even the notion in general, that rookies cant help you. Remember when Denver just won the championship a couple of weeks ago? Remember when Christian Braun was on their team, and scored 15 points in a Finals game? Remember when the Heat got to the finals with Herro in 2020?
Why does it matter? All that matters is fit, and if the guy can play
Sad to see him go the Blazers have failed him over and over again for his entire career he wanted to stay and win with the blazers the organization is terrible the team is just cheap and serious really let the loyal guy in sports go. Never gave this man a allstar and lied to him complete pathetic by the blazers.
How is the team cheap? They basically have zero cap space. Sorry but at some point Lillard has to shoulder some of the blame too.
@TMQ the team has the MlE,BI, and coulda made trades but they won’t be used because Jody refuses to pay the tax.
Not that surprising. He said get better or trade me. Didn’t make any trades at the draft…
Hope Portland takes the best offer that reasonably suits Lillards request.
Miami can’t offer Portland what Toronto, Brooklyn, Philly, or GSW can, and likely will.
Knicks are the dark horse here!
I can’t disagree. They could come quick with a palatable offer. They have stuff Portland would like, and I know they would like to have Lillard after Mitchell fell through last off-season
Scottie Barnes and 3 firsts… both teams can’t say no!
Lillard
Trent Jr
OG
Siakam
poeltl
Scoot
Sharpe
Grant
Barnes
Nurkic
Get it done Bobby and Masai! Only way to get this kinda talent in Toronto!
OG and 2 firsts is closer I think.
Blazers get Lowrey, Hero, Jovic and Martin plus picks. N’Urkle and Little to anywhere or anyone for a defensive center like Naz Reed, Myles Turner or similar. It has to be someone who can run faster than N’Urkle.
I’d rather have James Harden, or Chris Paul on a short term lease plus draft assets than Kyle Lowry… Brooklyn has some interesting stuff, Toronto too, now that they need a PG.
Depends on the draft compensation offer, and if Miami takes a page from Phoenix, and offers Portland a ton of swaps on top of future draft compensation.
Herro is alright, but Simons & Scoot didn’t fetch attractive enough offers to keep Lillard in town, so Herro is redundant unless Portland involves a third team to take Herro?
I don’t think Miami makes this type of future asset investment to be in the mix with other competitors. The final result will be a combination of a team on Lillards list, maybe not his top choice, and the best return Portland can manage, in my opinion.
What good are pick swaps in the next couple years? You really think Miami is going to have a better draft pick then Portland?
There are almost no picks to offer. That’s the problem.
For sure Lowry is in this deal. I’d prefer we give Robinson, but most likely the Blazers insist on Herro.
Then we’re talking either Jovic or Jaquez (if Herro is the deal…both if Robinson is the deal).
Then draft picks.
And the Martin mention, I think, all depends on whether it’s Herro or Robinson in the deal in combination of the Jovic/Jaquez part of the deal.
Should be interesting.
None of that adds up to near enough for Portland given that Miami has almost no draft capital to offer. At least not until PDX tries to wait Dame out to see if he’ll give them another destination. They’re better off just hanging onto him, and he’s a good enough dude not to pull a Harden/Simmons. A Herro/Martin/Jovic /Robinson combo for Dame and something from the back of the Portland roster seems to be the only thing that sorta gets there. And that’s assuming Portland’s reported dislike of Herro is exaggerated. Maybe a third team takes him. Lowry would be a negative asset Portland would immediately cut.
I feel a three way trade.
76ers – Lilliard
Clippers – Harden
Blazers – M Morris , maybe Powell or any variety of players , picks .
That way Harden gets to go to LA , Lilliard gets to play with Embid .
Portland already traded away Powell to get out from under that mistake of a contract they signed.
The Nets better get on the phone fast. It’s their best opportunity to get rid of Ben Simmons before having a season of frustration with him not wanting to shoot the ball.
I always love the trade posts that start with getting a star player for garbage that fans want off of their team.
For real. Simmons has maybe the worst value of all time. Nets would need to add even more picks if they wanted to ship Simmons out.
@rct
You know it’s bad when we both agree. But we have to thank him for giving us both a good laugh.
Ben is not going anywhere. The Nets can match salary without including him but using DFS and Dinwiddie + Claxton or a guaranteed O’Neale and Thomas or a guaranteed Sumner. The Blazers would definitely want Claxton in that deal. Several picks would be going to Portland regardless. I can also see the Nets absorbing Nurkic in Durant’s TPE and other players in smaller TPEs.
Cronin is making a splash, as he predicted. Ownership needs to get this guy help in making a Lillard deal. Couch it however they need to. It’s not going to be as easy to get real value for DL as many believe.
On the acquisition side, be aggressive.
I mean finally. Crazy he gave this much leash to that awful GM Cronin. Dude lied to Dame year after year and Dame always believed him
Cronin has been GM for what, 1.5 years?
Not even. They announced him as GM at the end of May last year. So like 13+ months.
link to instagram.com
Neil Olshey, maybe?
Cronin was running things since Olshey left (Dec 2021), maybe interim tag. He was the architect and face of the trade deadline 2022 deals that started the rebuild, which he swore wasn’t that at all, but a stealth “all in” approach to build a contender around Dame.
I know Trailblazer fans aren’t happy about this, but in all honesty this is the best move for them instead of trying to trade school for a slightly above average veteran just to make Lillard happy. go out there and start your rebuild you got school you got Sharp and Anfernee Simmons. that’s a good start for a rebuild, a darn good start
Spurs with Victor are the best landing place for Dame here. He’s the perfect veteran to pair with him to onboard him directly onto the superstar tier. If the Spurs get Dame and then spend big here, they can be a playoff team next season.
He has a very small number of teams he’ll even consider. San Antonio ain’t one of them.
Huh? He wants to win now, not rebuild.
I think the entire point of this whole thing is Damian Lillard wants to win, not suffer growing pains and be a mentor.
Harden to a 3rd team, whatever assets that brings to the Blazers. Also send either Tucker or Korkmaz and House. Add whatever 1sts available for trade.
Do not trade Maxey.
problem 1) Dame doesn’t want to go to philly problem 2) Harden doesn’t want to go to PDX problem 3) you’re using homer goggles lol
Hilarious that you think Tucker, Korkmaz, and House are ‘assets’.
Any expiring contract is an asset. -reg Korkmaz and House.
Where are the Knicks fans? I mean, I was totally expecting a bunch of classic Knicks fans trade ideas like “Toppin/Fournier/Grimes/Sims for Dame!” ;)
It’s almost never the Knicks fans pushing this stuff. Most are realistic and know almost nothing ever works out for them. Usually the dumb Knicks speculation is pushed by the awful NY media. NY sportswriters love to pump out unrealistic scenarios.
Your jab at Knick fans is without warrant. They can throw 3+ first rounders plus Barret, Toppin and other fillers. They might just do that.
Knicks have the ammo but it doesn’t make sense for obvious reasons. They can’t wait forever to pull the trigger but Dame isn’t the guy
For those saying “weird timing” or “why now”….. I think this was 10000000% on purpose. Not sure if its collusion or not, but Tyler Herro’s contract became tradeable…. today. Yesterday he was a 7 mill trade piece.. today he’s a 27 mill trade piece. I don’t (for a second) believe Dame asking to be traded today is a coincidence. I think he’s told Portland he wants to go to Miami and wanted to make sure they could get Herro.
Herro at that price is much better than it was a year ago
That’s silly. Dame probably didn’t actually demand a trade today. It was probably weeks ago. And it doesn’t matter when it was because obviously a deal like this is only gonna happen on draft day or after July 1. Didn’t happen on draft day (despite the Blazers no doubt trying) so here we are. Blazers will take Dame’s desired destination into account, but they won’t just fold their tents and take whatever. This could drag well into the season as the Blazers insist on either a fair deal from Miami, or a bigger list.
on Monday the blazers GM said Dame was “fully on board”… so no, you’re belief is not correct (unless he’s a bold face liar? lol)
I agree that this was already in the works. They already asked Grant if he can help anchor their rebuild which is why he got what he got. Also why Miami let Max and Gabe go because getting Dame isn’t cheap. They were just telling the media what they wanted. This deal is done unless Dame changes his mind
4 team trade: magic, heat, suns, trailblazers
Magic receive Ayton and Duncan Robinson
Heat receive Lillard and Gary Harris
Trailblazers receive Lowry, Herro, Jacuez, Jovic, and picks
Suns get Jonathan Isaac and Nassir Little
I was saying before the draft that I would have tried to trade Simons to Orlando. Maybe something like Gary Harris, Bol Bol, Cole Anthony, Orlando 2024 1st, Denver 2024 2nd, Memphis/Boston 2025 2nd, and Milwaukee 2026 2nd
the magic should gut their entire roster to get a player the blazers couldn’t trade to any other team in the NBA?
How does that gut their roster? It’s a skillset they could use, and they dont give up much of anything besides expiring salary
2 building blocks, a solid bench player, and up to 4 1sts? For Simons? Come on man lol
Did you mean my trade or the first one? Lol
Here’s my “paying attention” prediction…
Heat Get:
Damian Lillard
Anfernee Simons
PDX Get:
Duncan Robinson
Tyler Herro
Kyle Lowry
Heat’s 3 Tradeable 1st’s & 4-5 trade swaps
Why do I say this is my “paying attention” trade? 1) The Blazers have been trying to dump simons all summer 2) Dame is going to demand Miami 3) Herro is the best player they could get from any team on Dame’s list 4) Lowry’s contract opens them up for cap flexibility next summer 5) Duncan and Herro are both young building blocks with more playoff experience than anyone on the blazers in the last 20 years.
Blazers were trying to trade Simons when they were still planning on keeping Dame. Now Simons is one of their key building blocks and half their starting backcourt.
Herro and Scoot complement each other… Simons and scoot do not. Simons also has 3 years on his contract, Duncan only has 2 (for almost 10 mill less)… this is why it makes sense.
Are you serious? My God that’s bad. Why not throw in Sharpe and Scoot for good measure ya homer. Good lord, stop playing so much 2k and get out more.
I would think Portland would demand that Bam Adebayo and Tyler Hero be included in a trade especially when Miami doesn’t have a tradeable first until 2028.. how ironic would it be that the first year the Blazers go on a “magical” run and make the finals and the Heat don’t make the playoffs? I just don’t see how Miami has all the assets Portland is looking for without adding a third team. 4 first minimum going to Portland.
the heat have their 2026 and 2028 to trade and could add in one more with paperwork from OKC… so you’re wrong there
About time. Send him to Brooklyn for bridges or Johnson plus claxton and picks
Bridges at this point in time is just a flat out better all around player than Lillard
Am I the only person that doesn’t want to get 33 year old Lillard on my team? My Nets are finally looking good, we don’t need anymore divas. If the Nets want to give up Ben Simmons and 3 firsts, I’d be fine with that. I don’t want them giving up Cam Thomas, he has so much potential. Lillard and Thomas are essentially the same player, except Lillard is just better in every way but he is also 10 years older. Cam Thomas could average 30 a night with the right amount of respected minutes. I actually believe Ben Simmons is going to regain form this year so despite what everyone has been saying. Defensivly he wasn’t that good last year as previous years. Offensivly his shooting splits were virtually the same, but his confidence in taking shots was at an all time low. If I’m the Nets, I stay away from Lillard unless they can get him for nothing
Nope…
Lillard at 33 only makes sense for a handful of teams… Those looking to get over the hump… Like Miami…
It will be interesting if Portland send him to a contender or go for the biggest haul…