NBA Rumors: The latest reporting suggests that the Damian Lillard trade talks are expected to heat up over the next few weeks.
The Damian Lillard saga has officially entered September. The big question over the next few weeks is whether or not it will enter the start of the season.
The latest update suggests that it could.
On a SportsCenter hit, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski gave a much-needed update on the Lillard situation. Per Woj, while there have been no conversations between the Blazers with any teams on the Lillard trade front, that is expected to change in the coming weeks. Woj says the Blazers are expected to pick up conversations with “perspective teams” interested in Lillard before the start of training camp.
Even though on the surface this may seem like a non-update update, this is some interesting phrasing here. This update seems to suggest that there are multiple teams interested in Lillard. And if that is the case, and it’s not just Woj doing the Blazers a favor here with some public posturing, it could make for an interesting next few weeks.
What dark horse teams could be interested in Damian Lillard?
We know the Heat are probably the one team that is the most interested in Lillard. I don’t think there’s much denying that at this point. However, it wouldn’t be all that surprising if there was a dark horse team in the Lillard trade race.
The big question, of course, is whether there’s any “dark horse” team that would be willing to beat out the Heat’s offer – whatever that may be at this point.
Right now, that doesn’t seem to be the case. But perhaps that has changed recently.
In a vacuum, Lillard is the type of talent that could help several teams. He’s the level of player that would make multiple teams around the league legit title contenders. However, when you add in the context of his age (33) and the fact that he has one of the richest contracts in the league (that runs through the 2026-27 NBA season), it becomes that much more complicated.
And that’s before you even factor in his only preferred landing spot being the Heat.
I’m not sure if we’re any closer to a Lillard resolution, but you’d have to think that all parties involved would want to have one before the start of the NBA Training Camp. It’s now officially just a few weeks away (October 3).