The Damian Lillard saga has dragged on for months, but now, it appears to be nearing its conclusion. The Portland Trail Blazers star may have requested a trade to the Miami Heat in July, but just now talks seem to be heating up. according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowskiwhile no deal is imminent, the Blazers are “certainly behaving like a team that wants to make a deal before training camp.” The catch, according to Wojnarowski, is that the Heat are not involved in those negotiations – now.
This can change of course, according to Wojnarowski, and if Lillard has his way, he will. Lillard’s agent, Aaron Goodwin, has made it clear throughout the process that the All-Star point guard wants to play for the Heat. That stance has been so strong that the NBA even investigated him earlier this season and sent out a memo to all 30 teams making it clear that Lillard would be disciplined if threatening to not fulfill his contract obligations if he traded to a team other than the team. Heat.
It is not clear at this time what Miami is willing to offer in a deal for Lillard or what other teams may be pursuing him. Regardless of where Lillard lands, Wojnarowski reports that several other teams have been involved in talks as assistants. In deals of this size, additional teams are often needed for financial reasons or to redirect players who don’t fit the teams trading for them. If Miami is involved in the deal, for example, the Blazers would likely send guard-heavy Tyler Herro elsewhere.
At this point, however, Miami doesn’t seem motivated to make a trade at all costs. “I don’t think the Heat really want to trade for Damian Lillard,” ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said, adding that he doesn’t think the two teams have gotten involved recently.
Blazers training camp begins on October 3rd. Normally, media day comes one day before, so in a perfect world, the Blazers will get a deal done before then. That would leave a little more than a week to get a deal that, for the past two and a half months, has not materialized. Of course, deadlines drive action in the NBA, so with talks starting to heat up, a trade seems closer than ever.
