Damian Lillard isn’t getting screwed if he’s traded somewhere other than the Heat

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What the Trail Blazers actually owe Damian Lillard in his trade request

The third month of Damian Lillard’s trade request has finally started to put his eventual departure from the Portland Trail Blazers into motion. When Lillard issued his trade request on July 1, it was reported that he only wanted to play for the Miami Heat. Since then, there’s been a ton of blustering between fans of the Blazers and Heat, and reportedly very little interaction between the two franchises.

Portland reportedly hopes to trade Lillard before training camps around the league open on Oct. 2. The latest round of intel has informed the public of a few things: 1) the Blazers and Heat haven’t spoken in months, 2) the bidding is very much open to teams around the league, 3) the Toronto Raptors might be the favorite to land the superstar guard.

As Lillard’s trade request has dragged out, there’s been plenty of talk about what the Blazers owe him. Lillard is considered by some to be the greatest player in franchise history, and to a certain type of fan that means Portland should send him where he wants to go. It’s not just Heat fans who believe the Blazers should hand-deliver him to Miami: prominent national media members, like Stephen A. Smith, have scoffed at the idea of Dame being traded to Toronto. Smith called a potential Lillard trade to the Raptors “a waste of time” on ESPN earlier this week.

Everyone has an agenda in the Lillard discourse. The Blazers want to get the best possible return for their franchise player. Dame wants the Heat. The Heat want Dame, but reportedly don’t want to offer their full boat of assets. The media wants Lillard on a title contender, ideally in a flashy market. Through it all, Portland’s obligation to Lillard only extends so far:

The Blazers owe Lillard the remaining four years, $216 million on his contract
I’d argue the Blazers owe Lillard a trade to honor his request, even if they aren’t contractually obligated to do so

In reality, Lillard gave up the right to choose his team when he signed his contract with the Blazers. Lillard could have turned down the money, and entered free agency. That’s what superstars who wanted to change teams used to do, with Kevin Durant’s move to the Golden State Warriors and LeBron James’ moves to the Heat, Cavs, and Lakers as the best examples.

That doesn’t happen so much nowadays: stars tend to re-sign with the clubs because that’s how they can get the most money, and then ask out once they’ve decided they can’t win a title there. It’s a pretty good arrangement for both the player and the team: the player maximizes his money, the team still gets something back for losing its superstar.

If Lillard wants to see what the flip side of this arrangement really looks like, he only needs to glance at the other star guard requesting a trade right now: James Harden. Harden turned down a maximum extension when he was with the Brooklyn Nets. He then got his wish to be traded from the Nets to the Sixers, but after consecutive playoff flameouts, Philly decided it didn’t want to pay him a max deal. Now Harden wants the Clippers. The gamble Harden made was that he thought he’d be able to get max money from anyone. It turns out the league decided a guard in his mid-30s with a long history of underwhelming in the playoffs just wasn’t worth it anymore.

Lillard might have ran the same risk. Yes, Lillard is coming off arguably the best year of his career in Portland. He’s also 33 years old, and has never been considered a strong defender. We’ll never know if a team would have made moves to create the salary cap space to give Dame a max contract. By extending with Portland, he took that possibility off the table.

The most interesting subplot of the Lillard sweepstakes could be how future superstars react to extension negotiations. Giannis Antetokounmpo has already said he won’t extend with the Milwaukee Bucks yet. Donovan Mitchell hasn’t extended with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Joel Embiid could choose to enter free agency instead of extending in Philly. If Lillard gets traded to somewhere other than Miami, it’s possible players like Giannis and Embiid will cut out the middle man and enter the open market instead of requesting a trade. Rival teams applauding Portland for not dealing Dame to Miami might regret it if they one day lose their superstar for nothing.

If the Heat want Lillard, they have to offer the best package by a sizable margin. It makes no point in arguing whether Miami’s Tyler Herro is better than Toronto’s OG Anunoby or Philadelphia’s Tyrese Maxey. The gap between those players and the other assets teams can offer is close enough for Portland to choose the route of its own doing while still operating in good faith.

No one should be upset at Lillard for telling the world where he wants to pay. Applying public pressure to get to his preferred destination is really all he can do. The Blazers aren’t screwing him over if he’s traded to Toronto or anywhere else, though. Portland still holds all the cards. Until Miami makes the best offer, the Blazers don’t have to take it.