NBA Trade Rumors: Which non-Heat teams would be interested in Damian Lillard?

Other middle-of-the-pack teams that don’t make sense for Lillard

In addition to the non-playoff contenders, there are a few middle-of-the-pack teams that wouldn’t make sense for Damian Lillard for several reasons. For some, an addition of Lillard would not make them a true contender. For others, they’re not in a position where they have the necessary draft capital to complete a trade. Still, for others, they wouldn’t want to mortgage their future or trade any key core pieces for Lillard.

Those teams are the New Orleans Pelicans, Oklahoma City Thunder, Minnesota Timberwolves, Indiana Pacers, Chicago Bulls, Atlanta Hawks, New York Knicks, and Cleveland Cavaliers.

That’s already 16 teams that don’t make sense for Lillard in a vacuum. Those teams would not qualify for “sending Lillard to a contender.” And if Cronin simply wants to expand his options, that’s fine. There’s a difference between expanded options and sending Lillard wherever. I truly believe Portland wants to do right by Lillard, but they just want to find a strong deal by creating a bidding war.

If they’re going to accomplish that, they’re going to do so with contenders. Let’s start by taking a look at a few contenders