Vincent Frank
Portland Trail Blazers general manager Joe Cronin continues to play hardball when it comes to Damian Lillard trade talks with other teams.
With teams and decision makers currently in Las Vegas to take part in the NBA Summer League, rumors are heating up big time in this regard. Meanwhile, Cronin is not in a hurry to make a deal. He did not hold back on that in talking with media recently in Sin City.
“We’re going to be patient; we’re going to do what’s best for our team. We’re going to see how this lands. And if it takes months, it takes months,” Cronin on Damian Lillard trade talks.
We now have a report from Jake Fischer of Yahoo! Sports revealing what Portland’s asking price is in a Lillard trade. It’s completely absurd.
The NBA insider notes that Cronin and Co. are looking for a package similar to what the Brooklyn Nets received from the Phoenix Suns for Kevin Durant during the in-season NBA trade deadline back in February.
Brooklyn received young cornerstone players Mikal Bridges and Cam Johnson as well as four future first-round picks as part of the package for Durant.
It’s no surprise that Portland did not like the offer the Miami Heat made for Lillard. That included Tyler Herro, Duncan Robinson and multiple future first-round picks. It also must be noted that the Blazers might have to lower their asking price if they are to move Lillard ahead of training camp in September.
Related: Latest on Damian Lillard trade talks with the Miami Heat
Expect three-or-four-team Damian Lillard trade
As Fischer noted in his column, the Blazers are not interested in adding Tyler Herro in any Lillard-centric trade. They are flush with wings and have no need for him.
This falls in line with previous suggestions that Portland and Miami would have to get a third team involved. The aforementioned Nets have been bandied about recently as it relates to adding Herro to the mix. Perhaps, selling off Ben Simmons’ contract to Portland while offering up future draft capital could be part of an expanded trade.
As for Brooklyn, it has also been linked to Lillard in NBA trade rumors recently. However, the team is not willing to part with the aforementioned Bridges in a trade. That limits potential avenues to acquire the future Hall of Fame guard from Portland.
More recently, the Los Angeles Clippers have come up as a potential landing spot. However, they lack the draft capital to pull off a trade with Portland. Short of flipping Paul George to another team for assets, the Clippers are not going to be in the hunt.
Related: Ideal Damian Lillard trade destinations
All the while, the Golden State Warriors seemed to be an attractive option for Lillard prior to them trading for Chris Paul. It makes sense given that Dame is a native of Oakland in Northern California and grew up a Warriors fan. However, the deal for CP3 pretty much eliminates Golden State as a possibility.
As of right now, Miami seems to be the odds-on favorite to land Damian Lillard. It will likely take some time with a third or fourth team being involved in an expanding trade.
