What dark horse teams could enter the Damian Lillard bidding war?
Even if the Portland Trail Blazers work to get Lillard to a landing spot of his preference, I can’t imagine that his list would just be two teams. If it wasn’t just the Heat and Nets, what other teams could seemingly jump into the bidding war for Lillard? Let’s take a quick look around the league that would not only make sense but also at teams that have the necessary assets to work a deal with Portland.
Out West, which has to be much less likely than a trade to the East, you have the Los Angeles Lakers and LA Clippers that make sense. That said, neither team really has the necessary assets to realistically get a deal done. In the East, you have the Boston Celtics, Philadelphia 76ers, New York Knicks, and Toronto Raptors which would make sense to a certain extent.
However, we know Lillard doesn’t want to play for Boston and the Sixers don’t have the assets to get a deal done. The Knicks would be an odd fit with Jalen Brunson on the roster already and the Raptors might be pivoting toward a rebuild.
Perhaps it could truly come down to just Brooklyn and Miami.