The NBA free agency this year has taken the basketball community by surprise since its inception on Friday 6 pm EST. In what was perhaps the biggest development this summer, Damian Lillard demanded a trade from the Portland Trail Blazers’ front office, finally filing for divorce after reinforcing his vows of a lifelong marriage for the past several years. Lillard is set to receive a guaranteed $45,640,084 during the 2023-24 season as per the terms of his extension with Portland. Soon after the news of his availability was reported, many teams emerged as potential suitors for Dame, among them the Miami Heat being his personal favorite. Meanwhile, one of Lillard’s former Blazers teammates triggered tampering accusations after publicly tweeting at the Blazers star and one of his closest friends, Mikal Bridges.
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It’s very clear from reports that Damian Lillard wants to play for the Miami Heat. The 32-year-old star has a good relationship with Heat stars Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo, and wants to be ingrained in the iconic ‘Heat Culture’. Soon to be 33, Lillard is slowly nearing the end of his prime as well. Therefore, a move to Miami would make the most sense for him, since it’ll immediately allow him to contend for the 2023-24 title with the 2023 NBA Finalists. However, the deal doesn’t seem that appealing from the perspective of the Blazers’ front office. Miami doesn’t have any suitable replacements or that many Draft picks to offer in exchange for one of the best players in the league. Therefore, New York Knicks star Josh Hart decided to shoot his shot, taking advantage of the impasse.
Josh Hart supposedly ‘tampers’ with Damian Lillard trade with his request to Mikal Bridges
The Miami Heat could offer Portland Tyler Herro, Kyle Lowry, Jaime Jaquez Jr, and Nikola Jovic, along with a couple of future first-round picks, to facilitate a Damian Lillard trade. However, the deal hardly makes sense for the Oregon side, who are likely to go on a rebuild around their newest Draft acquisition Scoot Henderson. Herro may give you 20 points a night, but he’s a defensive liability. And Kyle Lowry isn’t an enticing enough option, in the dusk of his career, for Portland to forget the flaws of Herro.
Some analysts believe that the Blazers front office would honor Lillard’s request and a few draft picks are not worth tarnishing a longstanding relationship with a franchise legend. However, Joe Cronin has made it clear in a statement that the team is “committed to winning, and we are going to do what’s best for the team in pursuit of that goal.” As a result, NBA insider and a reliable Damian Lillard source, Chris Haynes, has predicted a three-team trade with a franchise like the Brooklyn Nets, who have draft picks to offer. Besides Lillard’s relationship with Nets star Mikal Bridges is pretty well-documented.
Meanwhile, New York Knicks star Josh Hart bustled into the scene with a pubic request to Lillard and Bridges to broker a trade with his team. Knicks have been one of the teams speculated to play a role in the trade, along with the Philadelphia 76ers, the LA Clippers and some other franchises. However, Hart’s tweets could pretty well be in violation of the NBA’s tampering rules. “Yo @mikal_bridges hit my phone bro,” Hart tweeted at Bridges, after tweeting a “Hey” at Dame.
We’ll have to wait and see if the NBA decides to take any action against the 28-year-old. Hart played for the Trail Blazers in the 2022-23 season. However, it’s questionable whether he has the influence to attract Dame Dolla to New York.
How the turn tables!
There was a time not long ago when Damian Lillard was believed to retire at the Portland Trail Blazers. His cryptic recent tweets might have given away his position, but Lillard was always a proponent of loyalty to one team.
In fact, he once scoffed at Paul George, calling him a ‘chump’, for switching teams to win a Championship. But seems like Lillard is about to walk on the same road. How the tables have turned!
