At the time of writing, Damian Lillard remains on the Portland Trail Blazers. Lillard formally requested a trade on July 2, citing the Miami Heat as his preferred destination. However, with Lillard not holding a no-trade clause, the Blazers have been steadfast in seeking the best deal for the team. This has been a problem for the Heat, who haven’t been wowing the Blazers with their Tyler Herro-centric offers. Meanwhile, Lillard’s agent has reportedly been contacting prospective Lillard suitors and telling them to back off. Reportedly, Aaron Gordon has told teams that they would get an “unhappy” version of Lillard if he was sent to a team other than the Heat.
Despite reports that the teams were getting "pretty close" to finding a deal, it appears that they are once again at an impasse. The blame for this has been tossed between the two teams like a hot potato. Several weeks ago, the Heat were blamed for stalling due to their unwillingness to weak their roster to acquire Lillard. However, it appears that the blame has now been shifted to the Blazers once.
Miami Wants Portland To Be Clear With Trade Demands
The latest twist in the saga was outlined by league inside Chris Haynes. "Miami’s frustrated with how things are moving slowly. Portland’s telling them bring us your best offer. Miami would like to know what Portland wants and Miami isn’t getting that answer. The Heat feel like things could be moving quicker if Portland said exactly what they want." In short - the Blazers just keep repeating the phrase "bring us your best offer" and refuse to elaborate on what they are actually looking to acquire.
We know that Joe Cronin wants four first-round picks and two high-quality players for Lillard. However, that offer is also too vague to be useful. How far into the future are the Blazers willing to have those picks? Which positions would consider to be of need? If they aren't interested in Tyler Herro, who are they interested in? It's clear that we have moved into the petty part of this trade saga. The Blazers clearly feel slighted by Lillard trying to control the narrative and are doing everything they can to delay his exit from the team. After all, they have four years of contract control over him. What's he going to do - stop playing basketball until 2027? If what Haynes is hearing is true, then the Blazers are absolutely hitting below the belt with this move.
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