Nearly two months ago, Portland Trail Blazers superstar Damian Lillard requested a trade away from the organization he’s called home for the first 11 years of his NBA career. Since news of Lillard’s request broke, his desire to be dealt only to the Miami Heat has been steadfast and singular. Yet according to Andscape’s Marc Spears, a member of a different Eastern Conference contender has reached out to Lillard and attempted to lure the All-NBA point guard to his team, albeit unsuccessfully.
“I know Jayson Tatum’s called him, tried to get in his ear,” Spears said on The Oregonian’s “Sports by Northwest” podcast. “But his focus is definitely on Miami.”
“I know that Boston…I know Jason Tatum’s called [Damian Lillard]. Tried to get in [Dame’s] ear. But his focus is definitely on Miami.” – @MarcJSpears via @Oregonian
Link: https://t.co/80NMhu2aB8 pic.twitter.com/XqjKTu5OiJ
— Dru (@dru_star) August 31, 2023
Regardless of whether Boston has the requisite means to acquire Lillard, he’d clearly be a wonderful fit with the Celtics. He’d address their tenuous and ball-handling guard depth following Marcus Smart’s departure and presumably give them the superstar initiator they’ve needed to avoid some of the offensive lulls that have plagued them the past couple years in the playoffs. But ultimately, it seems Lillard is fixated on the Heat and is uninterested on broadening his preferred destinations. At the moment, though, Portland and Miami do not appear close to a trade, so this saga rolls on.
Lillard averaged a career-high 32.2 points, 7.3 assists, and 4.8 rebounds in 2022-23.