NEW YORK (AFP) — Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard has requested a trade and the seven-time National Basketball Association All-Star guard prefers a deal to the Miami Heat, according to multiple reports on Saturday.
Lillard, who turns 33 on 15 July, is due $204 million over the next four years. He has spent all 11 of his NBA campaigns with Portland but has gone past the second round only once in eight trips to the playoffs.
Lillard’s request was reported by ESPN and The Athletic with the Miami Herald also reporting Lillard wants only the Heat, being a close friend of Heat star Bam Adebayo and having respect for playmaker Jimmy Butler.
Butler and Adebayo were keys in the Heat making a run from the play-in games to the NBA Finals last month, where Miami lost to the Denver Nuggets.
Lillard averaged a career-high 32.2 points and 7.3 assists and matched a career-best by shooting 46.3 percent over 58 games last season. He would be the largest point scorer in NBA history to swap teams for the next campaign, ESPN reported.
“We want Dame here but he notified us today he wants out and he’d prefer to play someplace else,” Trail Blazers general manager Joe Cronin said.
“What has not changed for us is that we’re committed to winning, and we are going to do what’s best for the team in pursuit of that goal.”
Portland finished 33-49 and missed the playoffs for the second season in a row.
The Trail Blazers are expected to want young talent and draft picks in exchange from any team interested in Lillard. Those with salary cap room to make the deal include the Heat, Philadelphia 76ers, Los Angeles Clippers and Brooklyn Nets.
Players on the Heat who could be moved in exchange likely include guards Kyle Lowry and Tyler Herro and forward Duncan Robinson.
ESPN reported Lillard has a “deep respect” for the San Antonio Spurs, who just landed French teen star big man Victor Wembanyama.
But the Spurs finished 22-60 last season and missed the playoffs for a fourth consecutive campaign.
‘We want Dame here but he notified us today he wants out and he’d prefer to play someplace else.’
Lillard played under Spurs coach Gregg Popovich on the United States Tokyo Olympic gold medal squad.
The Spurs also have the most salary cap space available among NBA clubs in the latest round of free agency.
Another talented guard in a similar situation is Philadelphia’s James Harden, a three-time NBA scoring champion who opted in on a one-year deal and also seeks a trade.
Lillard’s requested move was revealed only hours after the start of NBA free agency for the 2023-24 season.
Talks were allowed to begin Friday but no contracts can be signed until next Thursday, leaving only unconfirmed reports to signal the flow of talent around the NBA as dozens of deals were said to have been agreed upon by clubs and available players.
Among those deals was Portland’s pact with forward Jerami Grant on a five-year deal worth $160 million, ESPN and The Athletic said.
Fred VanVleet, a 29-year-old point guard who helped Toronto win the 2019 crown, is going to Houston on a three-year deal worth $130 million.
