After a little over a decade, the Damian Lillard era in Portland seems to finally be coming to a close.
The 7-time All-Star has reportedly requested a trade from the Portland Trail Blazers not even 24 hours into the NBA’s free agency period, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
This has been a long time coming. The Heat, Clippers and 76ers are all already making calls on Lillard, according to reporting from Wojnarowski. The Blazers are reportedly looking for trades that will send back young players and draft picks for Lillard. With many teams having already spent so much draft capital, the market might not be as robust as they’d think.
The Heat, Clippers and 76ers are three teams that will have interest in exploring trades for Lillard, sources tell ESPN. The Blazers are expected to value deals that would bring them back young players and draft assets. https://t.co/5KM6EF4RRT
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 1, 2023
Lillard also reportedly wants to go to the Miami Heat specifically, per The Athletic’s Shams Charania, which takes a bit more leverage from the Trail Blazers in looking for a deal.
The Portland Trail Blazers have been informed that Damian Lillard wants a trade specifically to the Eastern Conference champion Miami Heat, multiple sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium. https://t.co/CE2lJVcuod
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 1, 2023
With that being said, plenty of teams are going to call Portland looking for a way to land the All-Star point guard. With that in mind,
1
Miami Heat
The connection between Lillard and the Heat has been very apparent for a long time now. It’s no surprise that Miami is his preferred destination.
The problem is they don’t really have what the Trail Blazers are looking for. The Heat only have two draft picks they can trade and they have pick swaps to offer. But there’s not a young talent outside of Tyler Herro on the roster that would really get the job done.
That’s not generally how star trades work, though. When a star wants something done, that thing usually gets done. And, if the Trail Blazers are truly going to try and accommodate Lillard as has been reported, then he’s probably going to the Heat.
2
Brooklyn Nets
The Nets are a sleeper team here, but it’s pretty easy to see why Lillard might be attracted to going to Brooklyn.
They’ve got a solid young core with lots of lengthy wings in the rotation. Adding Lillard to a lineup with Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson and Nic Claxton would make Brooklyn an immediate contender in the East. They’ve got plenty of draft capital to move things forward and they’ve got a big contract in Ben Simmons to make any deal easier.
Honestly, if I’m Lillard, Brooklyn might be my primary choice here.
3
Philadelphia 76ers
I can’t think of too many better ways to replace James Harden than by adding a talent like Damian Lillard.
The Sixers don’t really have too much draft capital after the Harden trade, but they do have Tyrese Maxey. Certainly, the Blazers would be interested in taking a talent like him back in a deal. It remains to be seen whether the 76ers would willingly give him up, but they may not have a choice in the matter considering Lillard specifically wants to go to Miami.
4
Los Angeles Clippers
Damian Lillard would be so refreshing for the Clippers. This is a team that has had a hole at point guard from the very first day they united the Kawhi Leonard-Paul George duo.
Lillard would be an amazing fit here. The assets are the problem, though. The Clippers just don’t have the picks to trade. Outside of Terrence Mann, there aren’t too many young players worth building around on this team, either.
They’d need a third team to juice the deal and that’s going to be hard to find.
5
San Antonio Spurs
OK, look. I know what you’re thinking. Why on Earth would Damian Lillard request a trade from one team depending on a rookie to go to another doing the same thing?
The answer is simple, folks: Victor Wembanyama ain’t just any rookie. It’s Victor Wembanyama. And he’s being coached by Gregg Popovich. With all due respect to Scoot Henderson and Chauncey Billups, there are just levels.
And, according to Ramona Shelburne, this is a situation Lillard might actually be interested in.
The Heat is Lillard’s preference here. But he also has a deep respect for the San Antonio Spurs organization, sources told ESPN. https://t.co/IXhiZwJ24V
— Ramona Shelburne (@ramonashelburne) July 1, 2023
You might laugh at this now. But those two as a combination could make San Antonio one of the best teams in the West.
6
New York Knicks
A backcourt of Damian Lillard and Jalen Brunson might be an absolute disaster defensively.
But, regardless, Lillard is a star. And when there are stars available, you go get them. That’s just how the game works. The Knicks passed up on trading for Donovan Mitchell knowing that a situation like this could eventually come to fruition. Here it is.
7
New Orleans Pelicans
The Pelicans could very easily make a Lillard trade with the young prospects and talent that they have on their roster. They’ve also still got plenty of assets left from both the Anthony Davis trade and the Jrue Holiday trade.
But things are so shaky with this team right now — it’s hard to know what direction New Orleans is going in. There were trade rumors floating around about Zion Williamson just a few weeks ago.
Still, if Lillard is available, they should kick the tires on a trade at the very least.
8
Boston Celtics
The Celtics deal is easy to put together, too. The only outgoing first-round draft pick the Celtics have in the near future is their 2028 first. Otherwise, there’s plenty of draft capital available to get a deal done.
The question is would Boston need to include Jaylen Brown in a deal? If Boston decides that they don’t want to pony up the cash to make the supermax offer that Brown is going to ask for later this offseason ahead of time, the Blazers would probably be interested in making a swap between their star guards.
9
Toronto Raptors
The Raptors would be an interesting team here. They have plenty of draft assets and young players that they’d certainly be willing to part ways with in a deal.
They can trade any pick from 2026 on. And you can easily talk yourself into a scenario where the Raptors involve several prospects in order to get the deal done.
There’s not necessarily a direction there for the Raptors, so it’s hard to say whether they’d be interested. But I do think this would be an interesting move for them to explore.
10
Milwaukee Bucks
The Milwaukee Bucks would be an incredible destination for Lillard. He and Giannis Antetokounmpo would be a vicious combination offensively.
Lillard provides the Bucks with a level of off-the-dribble shooting that they’ve never had before. The pick-and-roll attack with Giannis rolling to the rim would be incredible.
The Bucks are at the bottom of this list, though, because they likely just don’t have the assets to get the deal done. They spent most of what they had in the Jrue Holiday trade. They’d only be able to offer second-round picks, their 2029 first-round pick and a pick swap for 2030.
Still, if they can find a third team to get involved? It’s something they should at least make a call on.
