The Damian Lillard saga could drag on until February
Portland Trail Blazers star guard Damian Lillard's trade request has been a primary talking point among NBA fans this summer. However, according to ESPN's Zach Lowe, who was speaking on a recent episode of "The Lowe Post," the Trail Blazers haven't received any serious interest in the All-Star guard.
“I’ve heard there’s been nothing,” Lowe said. “I mean no meaningful dialogue at all. And more pointedly — I know Brian Windhorst said something about this while I was on break — I just don’t think there’s been another team. If there is, I don’t know about it.”
Lillard, 33, has one of the most undesirable contracts in the NBA. The Trail Blazers star has two years remaining on his current deal, worth an average of $44 million per year, before a two-year, $121 million extension kicks in. Lillard could potentially earn $63.2 million as a 35-year-old.
Couple Lillard's contract with his vocal desire to team up with Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo on the Miami Heat, and it's easy to see why other teams around the league have steered clear. Lillard is still among the elite guards in the league, but there's no guarantee he would be happy in a situation that doesn't reside on South Beach.
Unfortunately for Lillard, the Heat don't have the trade collateral to provide Portland with an enticing deal. As such, there's a genuine risk Lillard will remain with the Trail Blazers for the first half of the new NBA season. The trade deadline isn't until Feb. 8, 2024. At this juncture of the offseason, NBA teams are finalizing their rosters and preparing for training camp. It would be unlikely to see Lillard heading to a new team this close to the start of a new season.
Instead, Portland and Lillard may be forced into papering over the cracks in their relationship while they wait for teams to search for a player to put them over the top. It's not ideal, but Lillard's best chance of being traded to a contending team may not come until the final week of the trade deadline.
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