With just over 24 hours remaining until the NBA draft, signs appear to be pointing toward Trail Blazers point guard Damian Lillard remaining in Portland.
“The Blazers have shut down anybody who has tried to call about the possibility of trying to trade for [Lillard],” ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski said Wednesday afternoon in an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show.
Lillard, 32, has been linked to the Eastern Conference champion Heat this offseason. The future Hall of Famer averaged a career-high 32.2 points per game in 2023 over 58 games.
Since Portland drafted Lillard with the No. 6 pick in 2012, the Weber State product has played his entire 769-game career with the Trail Blazers. He has produced multiple iconic moments—including series-winning shots against the Rockets in 2014 and Thunder in 2019—but Portland has reached the Western Conference finals just once with him.
ESPN’s Marc J. Spears reported Wednesday that Lillard has been working out at the Trail Blazers’ facility and has also communicated with top draft prospect Scoot Henderson—a prime candidate to be selected with the No. 3 pick by Portland in Thursday night’s draft.
Lillard is set to make $45.6 million in salary in 2023-24, the penultimate year of his current contract; an extension signed last July ties him contractually to the Trail Blazers through the 2025-26 season with a player option for 2026-27.
