Damian Lillard requested a trade less than a week ago but has yet to be dealt. He now has reportedly said he only wants to be traded to the Miami Heat and if he is traded to another team he will be ‘unhappy’.
The trend of NBA stars requesting trades has been brutal for years and it is getting worse. James Harden, Kyrie Irving, and Kevin Durant have requested seven total trades in three years just themselves and now Lillard, who has spent his entire career with Portland thus far, has requested a trade. This comes after he signed a 2-year extension just under a year ago.
It does help Portland get something for Dame by not just losing him in free agency but would Portland be better off if they didn’t sign him to that extension last year and instead had a ton of cap space to work with this summer?
Possibly, but the kicker to this trade request is that he said he will ‘only’ play for Miami. It was rumored he would have played in his hometown in Golden State too before they traded for Chris Paul.
This puts Portland in a bad spot because Miami knows they can offer minimal return for Dame now.
The most likely deal will route Tyler Herro to a third team while Portland just takes on expiring deals and hopefully can still get some picks or young players in return as well even though Lillard has massively tanked his trade market with these demands.
Photo Credit: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Damian_Lillard0.jpg
