It’s been several weeks since Damian Lillard made a formal trade request to the Portland Trail Blazers. With trade talks yet to bear any fruit, could Portland hold on to their longtime superstar?
Lillard has been heavily linked to the Miami Heat after declaring South Beach his destination of choice. However, Heat insider Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald claims that talks have not picked up of late and that the Blazers “haven’t been engaged” in trying to trade their All-Star.
In the Thursday episode of the “Heat Check” podcast, Chiang divulged a rumor he had heard that the Blazers are trying to salvage their relationship with Lillard (3:14 mark).
“Someone even told me — and I don’t know if I buy it 100% — but someone told me who has some knowledge of what’s going on. They’re not even convinced Portland wants to trade Damian Lillard at this point,” said Chiang. “It almost feels like they’re trying to find a way to maybe change his mind or delay this and see if Damian responds, ‘I’ll be part of this.'”
Even Chiang admits that the about-face could simply be posturing from Portland. Lillard demanding a trade and subsequently declaring the Heat as his ideal landing spot clearly didn’t help Blazers General Manager Joe Cronin’s leverage in making a deal.
Cronin has previously declared that the Blazers will not be in any rush to trade Lillard.
With the start of the NBA season still months away, the Lillard trade saga might not be over any time soon.
