Over the past few years, the Portland Trail Blazers have headed in the wrong direction, even though their superstar guard Damian Lillard has played some incredible basketball and is coming off his best season yet with the team.
After failing to make the NBA playoffs this past season, there was a lot of talk about whether Lillard had grown tired of losing in Portland and would want a change of scenery, as it appeared the Blazers were going nowhere any time soon.
The Blazers didn’t do themselves any favors heading into the 2023 NBA Draft, with Lillard wanting the team to trade the No. 3 overall pick to bring in veterans, but they decided to draft his replacement in Scoot Henderson essentially.
Then what might’ve been the last straw for Lillard was the team signing Jerami Grant to a long-term contract worth $160 million.
This signaled the team’s desire to stand pat, which clearly Lillard didn’t like, and now he’s finally asked to be traded, with ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith singing his praises for finally controlling his own fate via ClutchPoints.
“I’m very very proud of him. I’ve been arguing with this guy for about 6 years to get the hell up out of Portland… I think the stage is set for Damian Lillard to end up in Miami.”
Stephen A. Smith on Damian Lillard’s trade request 😅pic.twitter.com/6I8aOjwanJ
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) July 1, 2023
As expected, Lillard’s preferred trade destinations include the Miami Heat and Brooklyn Nets, as he’s close friends with Bam Adebayo and Mikal Bridges.
Right now, a third team needs to get involved in making a deal with the Heat happen, with Miami being the team atop Lillard’s wishlist.
Although Lillard has let it be known that he wants to go to one of these two teams, the Blazers brass is looking for the best deal possible, which could come from another team, which could make this a long process.