Report: Lillard requests trade

[Birdman]

These players being pamper in all sports is ridiculous..money they make, it should be a privilege to play anywhere or don’t ask for top dollar cause they are “underpay”..if u ask for a trade, okay, but u not picking where u want to go

[Birdman]

Does Portland want Simmons?
Nets get Lillard
Blazers get Simmons, Sharpe & picks

Don’t know if Blazers would want Ben with his background of not playing much

[kraidstar]

If Jaylen doesn't sign an extension, he could be used as the centerpiece for a Lillard trade.

I keep on hearing that Lillard doesn't have a no trade clause. However, what I don't hear is he does have a player option in '24 and '26. He is signed for four years, but he is a flight risk for two of them. As much as I love Lillard, I'm not sure I include Jaylen, when Lillard has an obvious love affair with the Heat, and may end up being essentially a one year rental.

The '24-25 option is gone/exercized since he signed that 2 year extension. So he's fully guaranteed for 3 years, with a  player option in year 4 ('26-27) for $63m. He'll be 36 the year of the player option.

If I'm the Blazers I send him to whatever team nets me the best trade return. And that would not include Miami and their Herro-centric pupu platter.

[tazzmaniac]

If Jaylen doesn't sign an extension, he could be used as the centerpiece for a Lillard trade.

I keep on hearing that Lillard doesn't have a no trade clause. However, what I don't hear is he does have a player option in '24 and '26. He is signed for four years, but he is a flight risk for two of them. As much as I love Lillard, I'm not sure I include Jaylen, when Lillard has an obvious love affair with the Heat, and may end up being essentially a one year rental.

The '24-25 option is gone since he signed that 2 year extension. So he's fully guaranteed for 3 years.

If I'm the Blazers I send him to whatever team nets me the best trade return.

Why would they doing anything else?  They don't have any obligation to please Lillard.  I don't recall Lillard sacrificing for the team. 

[cman88]

Pretty selfish of Lillard to only demand to go to Miami which clearly wont have the best package for them to at least start the rebuild.

I get doing right by Lillard, but he should at least give them a few teams. He's not a free agent, doesnt have a no-trade clause.

[tazzmaniac]

Pretty selfish of Lillard to only demand to go to Miami which clearly wont have the best package for them to at least start the rebuild.

I get doing right by Lillard, but he should at least give them a few teams. He's not a free agent, doesnt have a no-trade clause.

Lillard can't demand anything.  He has little leverage with 3 years left on his contract.  He has the right to ask to be traded to Miami and the Blazers have the right to ignore his request and trade him to Charlotte if they make the best offer. 

I don't get the "doing right by Lillard".  They did him right by paying him mega bucks and pampering him over the years.   Their focus should be on getting the best return. 

[cman88]

Pretty selfish of Lillard to only demand to go to Miami which clearly wont have the best package for them to at least start the rebuild.

I get doing right by Lillard, but he should at least give them a few teams. He's not a free agent, doesnt have a no-trade clause.

Lillard can't demand anything.  He has little leverage with 3 years left on his contract.  He has the right to ask to be traded to Miami and the Blazers have the right to ignore his request and trade him to Charlotte if they make the best offer. 

I don't get the "doing right by Lillard".  They did him right by paying him mega bucks and pampering him over the years.   Their focus should be on getting the best return.

Oh i agree. But it just seems the way the league is now that the players give them a "list" of teams they want to go to and they kind of oblige that.

by only giving Portland Miami he kind of screws their return. I hope they push back. It's never easy to lose an all-star player especially for a small market team. But to lose them and get garbage in return like Herro/duncan robinson and some low #1's???

[Neurotic Guy]

Pretty selfish of Lillard to only demand to go to Miami which clearly wont have the best package for them to at least start the rebuild.

I get doing right by Lillard, but he should at least give them a few teams. He's not a free agent, doesnt have a no-trade clause.

Lillard of course has the right to request where he’d prefer to be traded, but Blazers have zero obligation to comply. Portland management’s commitment is to improve the team, not to provide Lillard with a happy landing spot.  Sadly, Lillard (as did Anthony Davis) controls the process to some extent by essentially expressing to every team other than Miami that he’ll be unhappy if he’s traded there, thereby reducing what a team might otherwise offer.  An aging unhappy player with around $200M left on his deal is not very appealing.   So as much as I’d like to see Lillard sent somewhere cold and mediocre, I think Miami might end up with the strongest package since others will be scared off.   Once again, an example of a very small number of desired destination teams having an advantage.

[Goldstar88]

Pretty selfish of Lillard to only demand to go to Miami which clearly wont have the best package for them to at least start the rebuild.

I get doing right by Lillard, but he should at least give them a few teams. He's not a free agent, doesnt have a no-trade clause.

Lillard of course has the right to request where he’d prefer to be traded, but Blazers have zero obligation to comply. Portland management’s commitment is to improve the team, not to provide Lillard with a happy landing spot.  Sadly, Lillard (as did Anthony Davis) controls the process to some extent by essentially expressing to every team other than Miami that he’ll be unhappy if he’s traded there, thereby reducing what a team might otherwise offer.  An aging unhappy player with around $200M left on his deal is not very appealing.   So as much as I’d like to see Lillard sent somewhere cold and mediocre, I think Miami might end up with the strongest package since others will be scared off.   Once again, an example of a very small number of desired destination teams having an advantage.

Exactly, NG.

[Wretch]

Pretty selfish of Lillard to only demand to go to Miami which clearly wont have the best package for them to at least start the rebuild.

I get doing right by Lillard, but he should at least give them a few teams. He's not a free agent, doesnt have a no-trade clause.

I also think it's pretty ironic/selfish of any player to demand supermax contracts that handcuff teams
 Then demand trades because the teams can't field good teams with, mid to late1st round picks, ML exceptions and minimum contract FAs.

I have no problems with players like Dame or Beal getting paid but don't be a hypocrite about it. 

[trickybilly]

Is this the thread where we discuss the truly awful Jaylen Dame trade?

[tazzmaniac]

Pretty selfish of Lillard to only demand to go to Miami which clearly wont have the best package for them to at least start the rebuild.

I get doing right by Lillard, but he should at least give them a few teams. He's not a free agent, doesnt have a no-trade clause.

Lillard of course has the right to request where he’d prefer to be traded, but Blazers have zero obligation to comply. Portland management’s commitment is to improve the team, not to provide Lillard with a happy landing spot.  Sadly, Lillard (as did Anthony Davis) controls the process to some extent by essentially expressing to every team other than Miami that he’ll be unhappy if he’s traded there, thereby reducing what a team might otherwise offer.  An aging unhappy player with around $200M left on his deal is not very appealing.   So as much as I’d like to see Lillard sent somewhere cold and mediocre, I think Miami might end up with the strongest package since others will be scared off.   Once again, an example of a very small number of desired destination teams having an advantage.

There's nothing forcing Portland to trade Lillard.  If Miami can't provide a good enough return, tell Lillard he can either open up his destinations or he won't get traded this offseason.  They can see how see how things look at the trade deadline or try again next offseason. 

[Kernewek]

That's probably what will end up happening. But, unlike some of the other posters here, I understand Portland's good faith efforts here - it's not Lillard's fault that the Blazers failed to put a team around their best player since Bill Walton for more or less the entirety of his tenure.

[Ed Monix]

Not sure if this has been posted yet, but unless the Celtics trade Brown for Lillard (highly unlikely), the Celtics can’t trade for Lillard.

Given the impending super-max extensions of Brown & Tatum, the NBA Collective Bargaining Agreement does not allow three super max players to be on the same team.

[Birdman]

Saw a report where Blazers don’t want Herro so gotta be a three team deal somehow