The Portland Trail Blazers have made it clear that they won’t take Damian Lillard’s preference into consideration when listening to trade offers for him.
Lillard would rather play for the Miami Heat, but he doesn’t have a no-trade clause like Bradley Beal, so, technically, he doesn’t get to choose where he’s traded to.
At least, that’s on paper.
In reality, Blazers insider Aaron Fentress (via NBA Central) believes that Lillard and his camp could still have plenty of leverage, as he could pretty much tell interested teams that he has no interest in playing for them.
Blazers Insider @AaronJFentress says Damian Lillard and his agent could force his way to Miami
“Let’s say a team stepped up… with a Durant-like package, and Dame and his agent tell that team, ‘Dude, we’re not coming to play for you.’ That’d be franchise suicide for a team to… pic.twitter.com/b33vt9UuyU
— NBACentral (@TheNBACentral) July 3, 2023
That wouldn’t be the first time a superstar actively kills a trade by making it clear that he has no intention whatsoever of suiting up for one of the teams looking to make a run at him.
Why would any team make a Godfather-like offer and give up multiple valuable assets to trade for a guy who doesn’t want to stay there in the long run?
Lillard doesn’t strike like the kind of guy who’ll just jump from team to team, especially after all the talk he’s had about loyalty and whatnot.
But truth be told, he still has plenty of power in terms of choosing his next destination.
Lillard stayed with the Blazers through thick and thin, and one would think that the team could at least look for ways to get him to his preferred spot while also getting a nice trade package in return.
But if the Blazers don’t want to play ball, then don’t be shocked if their superstar takes matters into his own hands.
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Tyler Herro Reportedly Believes He Is Going To Be Traded
