Damian Lillard has spent the entirety of his 11 year career in the NBA on the Portland Trailblazers. He was drafted by them in 2012, won Rookie of the Year there, and dragged lackluster rosters to the Playoffs year in and year out. He signed a 4 year deal worth $176,000,000 before the 2021-22 season and now, after missing the Playoffs last season, has finally requested a trade. Dame’s camp has made it extremely clear they want to be traded to the Miami Heat but with negotiations stalling, teams like the Minnesota Timberwolves have been hypothesized by analysts as being in the race.
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In the midst of all the trade talk surrounding the 7x All-Star, he’s dropped yet another rap album. Dame is widely regarded as the greatest rapper or at the very least, the most talented rapper, in the NBA. ‘Don D.O.L.L.A’ has features from Rick Ross and also a song titled ‘Mike Breen’. Most recently, Joe Budden took to his podcast to applaud Lillard for releasing the album.
Damian Lillard gets pegged as a member of the Timberwolves by Bill Simmons
Bill Simmons has never stuck to the norm when it comes to speculation. All signs point to Damian Lillard becoming a player for the Miami Heat and despite this, the BS Podcast host insists that Dame go elsewhere.
He recently claimed that Dame would be a good fit alongside Anthony Edwards and Rudy Gobert on the Minnesota Timberwolves. While this may be true as a backcourt with Dame and Ant being anchored by a Gobert-led defense would instantly prove to be a championship contender.
Bill Simmons thinks Damian Lillard should consider forming a Big 3 with Anthony Edwards and Rudy Gobert in Minnesota
“You wonder if Dame is watching [Minnesota] going ‘You know what? Me for Towns. Just switch us. We have Gobert. We have Edwards. It’s kinda nice. Me and Ant… pic.twitter.com/LAy1kBHq8I
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) August 21, 2023
However, it’s very unlikely that Dame would leave the small market of Portland to go to an even smaller market in Minnesota. Karl Anthony Towns isn’t the return the Portland Trailblazers would want for the greatest player in their franchise’s history and given the Gobert trade from last summer, they do not have any stellar picks to offer up to Joe Cronin and company.
With the rest of the NBA having bowed out of the Damian Lillard sweepstakes and the Miami Heat not offering up a good enough package for him, his place in the league as of right now is up in the air.
Damian Lillard isn’t the only star guard going through a trade debacle
Damian Lillard and his trade request have gotten lost in the all the hoopla that’s been surrounding James Harden, another star guard who is disgruntled with his current franchise. Unlike Dame however, Harden has been jumping from team to team these past few years and asking for trades following disappointing seasons.
Most recently, Harden’s tour of China led him to call Darryl Morey a ‘liar’ for not trading him quick enough. He would go on to claim he will never play for an organization run by Morey ever again.
Now, with his relationship with the 76ers severed and the trade market extremely dry for a mid-30s Harden, he is currently stuck in limbo.
