Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard doesn’t have many trade suiters, besides the Miami Heat. An anonymous NBA executive revealed that there was a clear limit to how much teams were willing to give up for the aging star.
“There’s not that many teams that are going to give you a bunch of players and picks for a 33-year-old who can’t stay healthy and has a giant contract sitting there,” said the executive, per Forbes.”
“It wasn’t anything Dame or (agent) Aaron Goodwin said that shut down the market. That stuff didn’t help. But there weren’t teams lined up for him even before that.”
This latest report may indicate why there hasn’t been a Damian Lillard trade yet.
If this executive is correct about Lillard, then it’s easy to understand why the Blazers would be in no rush to trade the point guard to what was only a one-team market in the form of Miami.
It remains unknown whether or not Lillard plans to sit out from team activities if not traded. NBA training camps begin in September, and the season in mid-October.
The assertion from Lillard that he wants to be in Miami and Miami alone has frightened off potential outside suitors that the Trail Blazers could use to drum up better offers, whether from the Heat or elsewhere.
The Blazers, not wanting to be robbed in a Lillard deal, and the current likely offer from the Heat, built around Tyler Herro (a backcourt player the Blazers neither want nor need), would amount to what Hall of Famer and broadcaster Charles Barkley termed, “unfair,” this week.
Lillard’s value is not just his ability on the floor, which is still considerable.
He averaged 32.2 points and 7.3 assists last year, shooting 46.3% from the field and 37.1% from the 3-point line.
Lillard is 33 and has missed 77 games in the past two seasons. Lillard has a guarantee of about $215 million over the next four seasons. That includes a two-year extension he signed last summer worth $120 million.
In his age 35 season, Lillard will be getting paid $58.5 million. At 36, that goes to $63 million.
Lillard has missed time in the past two seasons, and it is fair to wonder whether those were one-off injuries or part of a steady breakdown.
An abdominal tear cost him much of 2021-22, and he lost 24 games last year to calf, ankle, and wrist injuries.
That makes Lillard a gamble. Even just picking up the remainder of his contract is a gamble because it’s a lot of money, with little assurance he will be on the floor.
Not many teams could afford to take that gamble. Maybe the Sixers, if there was a way to swap out James Harden in the mix.
Maybe the Clippers, if they could send out a star, too.
There was talk around the league about the Nets possibly pursuing Lillard. However, Brooklyn never made an offer and would not be willing to give up young stars Cam Johnson or Mikal Bridges in a trade.
The NBA office has not been well pleased by what’s gone on with Lillard, and in late July, sent out a memo to all 30 teams clarifying that Lillard would honor his contract if traded to Miami or anywhere else. That changed absolutely nothing.
Miami is a team that, like Lillard, is aging and looking to make just one more run at the Finals.
It has been careful with the luxury tax in recent years but can afford to go over and spend heavier if needed.
Certainly, Lillard’s contract would likely force Miami well into the tax.
By saying he wanted to go only to Miami, whom did Lillard scare off?
Probably no one. Because even before the drama around Dame and the Heat unfolded, other factors had left the market for him pretty barren.
