The immediate aftermath of Aaron Rodgers pursuing a trade and Damian Lillard requesting a move of his own were as far from similar as one could imagine. Lillard had put off a potential trade request for years, attempting to stay loyal to the Trail Blazers in a tough stretch where the team was half rebuilding and half trying to put their star guard in a position to win a title.
As for Rodgers, the darkness retreat and drawn-out delay in his decision this past offseason were surely enough to send Packers fans into a frenzy of frustration. But as the Lillard trade saga has rolled on, it's quickly become more and more similar to Rodgers' exit from Green Bay, specifically in what the negotiations ultimately evolved into.
The Back-and-Forth Between Jets, Packers on Aaron Rodgers
Trades in all sports are heavily focused around the concept of leverage, but none more than the NFL and NBA. At various points, both the Packers and Jets believed they had leverage in their negotiations.
A 39-year-old quarterback contemplating retirement? The Packers could just let it play out if need be. Point for Green Bay. Rodgers stating "his intention" was to play for the Jets? Point for Gang Green.
The two sides both had leverage, but Rodgers then made his intentions to play for the Jets known, and in turn, the trade market for a former MVP quarterback was quickly beginning to get watered down.
In the end, the eventual trade looked as follows:
- Jets and Packers swap first-round picks (No. 13 to Green Bay, No. 15 to New York)
- Packers receive a second-round pick (No. 42), a sixth-round pick (No. 207) and a conditional 2024 second-round pick
- Jets receive Aaron Rodgers and a fifth-round pick (No. 170)
The Packers essentially moved up two spots in the first round, received a second-rounder in 2023 and a conditional round-two pick in 2024 in exchange for Rodgers. This is far from an NBA-caliber Rudy Gobert trade with four first-rounders, a pick swap and four players, to put it lightly.
Progression of Damian Lillard Trade Talks Between Blazers, Heat
To this point, both Portland and the Heat haven't strayed from their stance on a potential Lillard trade. The two sides are deadlocked and appear willing to let this standoff loom. The first problem lies in the fact that both sides, similar to the Jets and Packers talks for Rodgers, have their own leverage.
The Blazers want a big haul, rightfully so. Lillard is one of the NBA's elite players and Portland has seen other big names go for a plethora of first-round picks, players, etc., as mentioned previously with Gobert.
For Miami, the aspect of Lillard being due a combined base salary of just under $94.5 million in the next two years is noteworthy. Pair that with the fact that Lillard is 33 years old, which remains relevant even with him showing no signs of slowing down. And this has led to the big, bold, all-caps point from Miami's side: Where's the better offer than what we can send?
That point is highlighted by the biggest sticking point in any deal, and it comes back to the same key factor as the Jets-Packers trade — the star player.
Lillard hasn't strayed from the fact that he wants to be in Miami. His desire to be in South Beach even reportedly went as far as his agent reportedly calling teams and "warning" them against trading for him. The seven-time NBA All-Star doesn't appear to have a "list," he just has one destination circled, and it's the Heat.
This factor, combined with the aspect of both sides having leverage, has essentially done exactly what we saw with Rodgers — the potential trade return has started to lose steam.
If Lillard is deadset on playing for the Heat and won't join another team, it's unlikely that any other franchise will offer much in exchange for the star. So don't be surprised if and when Lillard does get traded if the package isn't quite as eye-opening as the Blazers are hoping.
