Rob Gray-USA TODAY Sports
Damian Lillard has asked for a trade, and he’s made his preferred destination known.
Damian Lillard has told the Portland Trail Blazers he wants to be traded, according to multiple reports. The team is expected to accommodate Lillard in his trade request, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Lillard has specifically asked to be traded to the Miami Heat, according to NBA insider Shams Charania.
The Brooklyn Nets were mentioned as Lillard’s other “preferred destination,” according to Bleacher Report’s Chris Haynes. The Los Angeles Clippers and Philadelphia 76ers have also expressed interested in Lillard, according to Woj.
Lillard’s trade request comes weeks after the Trail Blazers selected point guard Scoot Henderson with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft. Lillard told the media he didn’t want to play with teenagers during end-of-season exit interviews. While Lillard wanted Portland to trade its draft pick for a veteran star, Portland reportedly rebuffed all offers.
Lillard has four years, $216 million remaining on his contract. He turns 33 years old before next season. He’s coming off one of the most prolific seasons of his career, 32.2 points and 7.3 assists per game while shooting 37.1 percent from deep on a sky-high volume of attempts (more than 11 per game). He remains one of the league’s best guards, and one of its preeminent pull-up shooters.
The Blazers made the playoffs in eight straight years at the start of Lillard’s career after selecting him with the No. 6 overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft. Portland has been one of the league’s worst teams the last two seasons while using their lottery pick to select teenagers in Henderson and Shaedon Sharpe. The Lillard era peaked in Portland during the 2018-19 season, when the Blazers reached the Western Conference Finals but were then swept by the Warriors.
There should be a robust trade market for Lillard with several teams interested. Any package with Miami is expected to revolve around Tyler Herro, rookie Jaime Jaquez, and multiple first round picks. Portland brass will have to weigh giving Lillard his desired location in Miami vs. trying to get the best overall deal for him elsewhere. Lillard said on a podcast earlier this offseason he’d love to play with Bam Adebayo in Miami. The Heat are coming off a run to the NBA Finals.
We’ll update this story as it develops.
