The same week that James Harden was slapped with a $100,000 NBA fine for insisting he never again will play for Philadelphia 76ers President Daryl Morey, Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard continues with a more conciliatory approach amid his quest for a trade to the Miami Heat.
In an interview with ESPN’s Andscape, Lillard, who previously expressed interest in the Heat’s win-now approach and a possible reunion with Olympic teammate Bam Adebayo, confirmed a desire to move on from the Blazers’ rebuilding process in favor of championship contention.
“I can say that there was [a trade request] and I would just prefer not to speak on the Trail Blazers,” Lillard said.
The Blazers, though, have spoken on Lillard.
“I do feel like I failed Dame,” Portland General Manager Joe Cronin said in a July 10 interview at the NBA’s Las Vegas Summer League, when asked about the Blazers lacking a championship-contending core alongside their seven-time All-Star.
The speculation regarding Lillard’s singular desire to move on to the Heat reached the point that the NBA issued a July 28 memo that addressed the Lillard situation, threatening fines for a player indicating a refusal to perform required services to a team while under contract. Lillard, 33, is under contract to the Blazers for four more seasons at almost $200 million.
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To a degree, Lillard’s comments to ESPN mirror those of previous older veterans who found their way to the Heat amid championship aspirations, including current Heat leading man Jimmy Butler.
“I would say the desire for that now is as high as it’s probably going to be,” Lillard told ESPN of his championship vision, coming off one of the best seasons of his career, when he averaged a career-best 32.2 points per game on career-best .463 shooting. “That’s literally the thing at the top of my list. When I wake up and I got to get up and go do what I got to do, I got to train, I got to make time for my kids, I still got to lift, I got to do all these things and I got to make sure that training and the preparation is still my priority. Even with being a father of three now, not one, and having all these other responsibilities, you need something that you feel pretty strong about to stay committed the way I’ve been committed. It’s as high as it’s going to get. That’s ultimately what I want to experience and that’s what I want to get done.”
Lillard added, “For me, I know what I want for myself and I’m going to be loyal to that.”
Potential Heat components for a trade for Lillard include veterans Tyler Herro, Duncan Robinson and Kyle Lowry, neophytes Nikola Jovic and Jaime Jaquez Jr., and a package of future first-round picks. Beyond Adebayo and Butler, the only other Heat players currently eligible to be dealt beyond the aforementioned seven are Haywood Highsmith and Caleb Martin. All others cannot be dealt before Dec. 15, after being signed this summer.
