New Shocking Revelation About Damian Lillard's Plans & Portland's Ask
Damian Lillard spent 11 years building an impeccable reputation as one of the NBA's most beloved superstars. His loyalty to Portland over all those years was admirable. But the tidbits coming out of the Lillard camp each day just continue to whittle away at his stature.
We already know that on Thursday, his agent sent out a message to all teams other than the Miami Heat to stay away from trading for him, or they'd be getting an "unhappy" camper.
Now we learn that Dame would simply boycott any team he's traded to other than the Heat.
If Damian Lillard lands with a team other than the Miami Heat, he won't report to training camp, per @MarkG_Medina
— NBACentral (@TheNBACentral) July 7, 2023
"‘He just wouldn’t go,’ a person familiar with Lillard’s thinking told Sportsnaut. ‘He just wouldn’t report.'… ‘I don’t think the other team would trade for him… pic.twitter.com/ETxLoXRUMH
"‘He just wouldn’t go,’ a person familiar with Lillard’s thinking told Sportsnaut. ‘He just wouldn’t report.'… ‘I don’t think the other team would trade for him knowing that he doesn’t want to be there,’ the person familiar with Lillard’s thinking told Sportsnaut. ‘He’s a first-ballot Hall-of-Famer, so they should respect his wishes.’"
Hmm. Trail Blazers GM Joe Cronin has insisted, rightfully, that his duty is to get the best deal possible for his team, and that's what he's trying to do. They're reportedly looking for in the neighborhood of four first-round picks and two quality players for Dame. And the Blazers don't have any use for the Heat's best trade chip, Tyler Herro. So finding another team (or two, or three) to move pieces around is the only way that a trade to Miami can happen.
But as we know, superstars in the NBA usually get what they want, so it's still likely, given all of the above, that something will somehow get worked out to get him to Miami, but it seems that Lillard is sullying his reputation along the way.
Except in South Beach.
Photo: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports
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