San Antonio Spurs
Shortly after Damian Lillard asked the Portland Trail Blazers for a trade, ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne reported that while Miami is likely Damian Lillard’s preferred destination he had “deep respect” for the San Antonio Spurs. That sparked an entirely different narrative that suggested Lillard could be open to playing with head coach Gregg Popovich and Victor Wembanyama in San Antonio.
On the surface, it may seem a bit odd but a Lillard-Wemby duo would be quite intriguing. Taking that thought a step further; why would it make even more sense? Because the Spurs are another team that has exactly what the Blazers would be looking for in a potential return. San Antonio has young talent that extends beyond Wemby and a multitude of future first-round picks that they could cobble together to create an appealing offer to the Blazers.
Then reality sets in. While I don’t doubt that, in theory, Lillard would be open to playing with Popovich and Wemby, that’s not happening. Lillard is not going through all this trouble of leaving the Blazers to play with a team that is not even close to competing for a championship.
Will Lillard be traded to the Heat? It’s starting to feel that way. However, there are teams that could theoretically beat out Miami’s best potential offer. The next couple of days should be fun and could get even more interesting if Lillard softens his Miami-or-bust trade request stance.