Report: Knicks, Sixers Among 'Aggressive' Suitors for Damian Lillard
Damian Lillard answered affirmatively last week when asked if he anticipates wearing a Trail Blazers jersey next season. Despite that expectation and his denial about reports of an imminent trade demand, though, Lillard made it abundantly clear his future in Portland remains very much in doubt—a reality of which the entire league took notice.
Even though expectations remain that he won't be moved this summer, five teams have emerged as the "most aggressive" trade suitors for Lillard, according to The Ringer's Kevin O'Connor.
Few team executives expect a Dame deal to happen this offseason. But multiple front-office sources say the Heat, Kings, Knicks, Rockets, and Sixers have recently been the most aggressive suitors.
Confirming assumptions of the massive haul it would take to net a superstar with three seasons remaining on his contract, The Ringer also reports that sources believe Portland would receive a trade package at least on par with what the Houston Rockets got for James Harden if Lillard is soon moved.
Front-office executives say that if the Blazers eventually move Lillard, they can expect a return rivaling or surpassing what the Nets gave up for James Harden: multiple young players, plus three first-round picks and four first-round pick swaps.
None of this intel is all that surprising.
The New York Knicks, Miami Heat and Philadelphia 76ers have been rumored as potential Lillard destinations for weeks. It's no secret that a player of his caliber has never requested a trade with at least three seasons left on his existing contract, either, ensuring Portland would garner a king's ransom for moving him.
But unless the Blazers prove unable or unwilling to honor Lillard's wish of upgrading the roster around him before 2021-22, speculation of his departure is premature. Portland is in a holding pattern until August 2, when free agency kicks off and negotiations with Norman Powell will set the parameters for its ability to surround Lillard with a championship supporting cast.
Wait two weeks or so to worry too much or get too excited about a Lillard trade actually coming to fruition. We'll know far more about his plans then than we do now.