The Portland Trail Blazers have no desire to grant Damian Lillard's wish of a trade to the Eastern Conference champion Miami Heat.
Lillard finally handed in a much-anticipated trade request to the Trail Blazers on Saturday, stating his desire to move on from the franchise in search of a championship ring. He was said to have identified the Heat as his desired destination, and is believed to have told the Trail Blazers as such.
A host of teams - including the Heat, LA Clippers and Brooklyn Nets - have been tipped to test the waters for the seven-time All-Star, but the Heat remain Lillard's first choice.
However, according to ESPN, the Trail Blazers have decided they will not co-operate with Lillard's specific trade request and will continue to look for the best deal, wherever that sends Lillard.
Unlike Bradley Beal, who had a no-trade clause in his contract that allowed him to veto any trade he didn't like, Lillard has little say in his next team. His current contract runs until the end of the 2024-25 season, earning him $45.6million (£35.8m) for the upcoming year and a whopping $48.7m (£38.3m) for the final year.
Only a few teams in the league can match that contract while still coming within the salary cap, and there aren't a lot of teams who will be able to offer up the desired trade assets to the Trail Blazers. Portland chiefs are reportedly seeking a combination of salary cap relief, young players and draft picks.
They recently selected generational talent Scoot Henderson in the 2023 NBA Draft, a player who could realistically replace Lillard once a trade is approved.
The report states that Portland has already fielded calls from other teams throughout the league about Lillard's availability, and that the Trail Blazers told each team they were open for business throughout the NBA - not just for Miami.
Lillard seems confident a trade will be approved before too long, however, as he took to Instagram to send a series of farewell messages to the city of Portland. He also liked a tweet calling for him to follow in the footsteps of LeBron James, who left his boyhood team - the Cleveland Cavaliers - to win two rings in Miami before returning home and ending the Cavs' championship drought.
The tweet, which is still listed in the 'liked' tweets on Lillard's verified account, reads: "Need Dame to pull some Lebron type s***, goes to Miami win a couple rings then come back home and win it... PORTLANDDDDDD THIS IS FOR YOUUUU"
