NBA insider reveals Damian Lillard's feelings on possibly joining Celtics
Damian Lillard's prolonged patience with the Portland Trail Blazers appears to be wearing thin. After back-to-back playoff-less seasons, rumblings of the seven-time All-Star forcing his way out of town to join a contender are at an all-time high. However, if you thought Lillard's desire to make a title run could somehow land him in Beantown, you're sadly mistaken.
During an appearance on "The Dan Patrick Show," Bleacher Report's Chris Haynes adamantly shot down the idea of Lillard joining the Boston Celtics.
"He's not doing Boston," Haynes said definitively in response to Patrick floating the idea of a trade to the Celtics.
Haynes, who noted he speaks with Lillard "pretty frequently," expects there to be serious conversations of the 32-year-old point guard and the Blazers parting ways if the latter opts to keep the No. 3 pick in this month's draft instead of packaging it in a win-now trade.
Lillard has been an open book this offseason when it comes to his potential exit from Portland, even highlighting hypothetical destinations he'd welcome a move to.
“Miami (Heat), obviously,” Lillard told Brian Custer on Showtime's "The Last Stand" when presented a list of Eastern Conference destinations. “Miami is the obvious one and Bam (Adebayo) is my dog. Bam is my dog for real. But I mean, Miami’s the obvious one. Brooklyn (Nets) is another obvious one ’cause Mikal Bridges is my dog, too. I mean, both are capable.”
The Heat would be an ideal fit for Lillard. While we'd be wise not to count out a Jimmy Butler-led squad only three games into the NBA Finals, Miami would undoubtedly boost its title odds with Lillard running the point.
Veteran Kyle Lowry is well past his prime, while Tyler Herro is best served to operate in a sixth-man role when healthy. Gabe Vincent has shown promise since taking over as the full-time starting point guard in January but ultimately remains a single-digit point-per-game scorer who is coming off a 2-of-10 shooting performance in Game 3 against the Denver Nuggets.
Lillard has averaged at least 28.8 points per game in three of his last four seasons and isn't showing any signs of slowing down. In 2022-23, his 11th professional season, Lillard shot a career-best 46.3% from the field while knocking down 37.1% from deep.
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