Damian Lillard is reportedly hoping to be traded to the Miami Heat, but there may be at least one other team on the star point guard’s radar.
Lillard met with the Portland Trail Blazers last week and requested a trade. It quickly became clear that his preference is to be traded to Miami. Lillard does not have a no-trade clause in his contract, however, so the Blazers have no real reason to accept anything other than the best offer for their best player.
After news of Lillard’s trade request surfaced, ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne reported that Lillard prefers the Heat but has “deep respect” for the San Antonio Spurs organization. Brian Windhorst said on his podcast Monday that he has heard the same as his colleague.
“Ramona has reported and I have heard this as well, and I didn’t just hear it in the last three days — (Lillard) does have interest in the San Antonio Spurs,” Windhorst said.
The Hoop Collective on Lillard and the Spurs pic.twitter.com/TWCKDTw0F1
— ɢᴀʙʀɪᴇʟ (@JeeVee84) July 3, 2023
The question is whether that interest is mutual. The Spurs just drafted Victor Wembanyama, so they have a potential franchise-altering player to build around. They are also armed with multiple first-round picks that the Atlanta Hawks sent them last year in exchange for Dejounte Murray. It seems unlikely that San Antonio would want to spend those valuable picks on a 32-year-old player when they could instead wait to see where they’re at with Wembanyama.
There was talk of the Spurs wanting to pair one veteran point guard with Wembanyama, but acquiring Lillard might be cost prohibitive.
