It appears to only be a matter of time until the Miami Heat land All-Star guard Damian Lillard from the Portland Trail Blazers.
Last week, the seven-time All-Star requested a trade from the Trail Blazers. The Heat have been widely mentioned as a front-runner for Lillard, and league executives reportedly expect a deal between the two clubs to be completed.
Speaking on the latest edition of “The Jon Krawczynski Show” (h/t HoopsHype), Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic reports that the “overall belief” around the league is that the reigning Eastern Conference Champions will win the Lillard sweepstakes.
“So the scuttlebutt out here, it seems to be when you talk to, you know, I’ve talked to a bunch of agents have talked to several executives with other teams, and it’s what everyone is talking about. And there just seems to be an overall belief that eventually at some point, Miami will find a way to get the pieces together to get Damian Lillard there.”
It has also been reported that if Lillard were to be traded to any team other than the Heat, he would refuse to report to that club. Needless to say, there’s an exciting buzz around Miami as the Heat appear to be closing in on landing another All-Star scorer.
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The Trail Blazers drafted Lillard sixth overall in 2012. The future Hall of Famer has led Portland to eight playoff appearances, including a trip to the 2019 Western Conference Finals. But injuries have limited Lillard to 87 total games over the last two years, and the Trail Blazers have slipped to the bottom barrel of the standings.
Portland already has a foundational piece in Scoot Henderson, the No. 3 selection of this year’s draft. Needless to say, a Lillard trade promises to land the franchise several much-needed young assets to help accelerate their rebuild.
