Damian Lillard and the Portland Trail Blazers remain at a standstill after the seven-time All-NBA point guard requested a trade to the Miami Heat this summer. While Lillard wants a chance to compete for an NBA championship right away, there’s a sense the Blazers aren’t quite ready to win it all now.
Yet, with Lillard being the face of the franchise and a true fan favorite, the Blazers aren’t just going to give the seven-time All-Star away. They want top-notch value for their superstar.
At this point, Lillard is fed up. He doesn’t want to report to Portland and is supposedly only seeking an opportunity to play for the Heat and no one else. It’s led to an odd scenario for the Trail Blazers front office, and now some within league circles are comparing the situation to the final days of Ben Simmons with the Philadelphia 76ers. Seriously.
Here’s NBA insider Ramona Shelburne, who spoke with two NBA GMs earlier on Tuesday, which led her to the bit about Simmons.
“I just talked to two GMs this morning that said essentially we might be looking at another Ben Simmons situation. He’s got four years on his contract. They don’t have to do anything. They can take their time. Let’s just see if he shows up for training camp. If they want to wait until February to trade him, they can.”
Ramona Shelburne on Damian Lillard
As Shelburne mentioned, Lillard has four years left on his $176 million contract. Unlike Bradley Beal, Lillard does not have a no-trade clause, meaning the Blazers can send him wherever they’d like. Yet, Lillard’s PR campaign intended to push him to Miami likely diminishes his trade value since he’s insisting he wouldn’t play for anyone else.
If you’re a team that feels Lillard would be a good fit, you’re not willing to part with much of anything if the superstar isn’t committed to his new organization. That’s likely why most execs still expect Lillard to end up with the Heat when this is all over.
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