All-Star guard Damian Lillard has requested a trade from the Portland Trail Blazers, as The Athletic's Shams Charania reported and CBS Sports' Bill Reiter confirmed. There have been reports that Lillard could potentially look to play somewhere else if the Blazers couldn't put together a competitive team around him, but never did it come to the point of him requesting a trade, until now. For the first time in Lillard's career he'll be looking for a new home away from the only team he's ever played for.
The two teams that are expected to be favorites in landing Lillard are the Miami Heat and the Brooklyn Nets, per Charania. But Lillard has reportedly listed the Heat as his top preference. The Heat have been the long-rumored landing spot for Lillard, as he recently expressed interest in playing for Miami if he were to leave Portland.
In talking about the potential of playing for the Heat, Lillard said on a podcast, "Miami is the obvious one. Bam [Adebayo] is my dog. Bam is my dog for real. But I mean I think Miami is the obvious one." Lillard then went on to talk about how he could also envision himself playing for Brooklyn saying, "Brooklyn is another obvious one because Mikal Bridges is my dog too. I mean, both have capable rosters."
While Miami is Lillard's top choice, that doesn't mean he'll get traded there if the Blazers are given a better option by another team. The Philadelphia 76ers and Los Angeles Clippers, for instance, are two teams with interest in the dynamic guard, per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski. The Sixers are currently looking to facilitate a trade for James Harden who opted-in to the final year of his contract and requested a trade the day before free agency started. If they can put together a better package than the Heat or Nets, then the Blazers may override Lillard's wishes and try and get the best offer possible.
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The best package the Heat could put together would likely center around guard Tyler Herro and some future first-round picks, but it's unclear if Portland would be interested in Herro. With Shaedon Sharpe and Anfernee Simons already filling out that second backcourt spot, and the Blazers drafting point guard Scoot Henderson with the No. 3 overall pick in the draft a couple of weeks ago, Herro would be redundant on this roster. If the Heat really want to get Lillard, it may require a better package. That means a trade could be expanded to potentially a three-team deal to get Portland something it really wants.
Given the complexity behind trading a player of Lillard's status, it could be a while before a deal is actually done. Throw in the fact that free agency just started on June 30, and the market around the league could be stalled a bit before Lillard's next home is decided.
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