NBA Trade Rumors: Blazers hoping non-Heat team enters Damian Lillard race

NBA Trade Rumors: Portland Trail Blazers still hoping a non-Heat market develops for Damian Lillard before pulling the trigger on a deal. 

As the Damian Lillard saga continues, one thing is becoming quite clear – if the Portland Trail Blazers want to put this behind them before the start of the season, they have to work to get something done soon. The problem is, there’s no guarantee they’re ready to trade Lillard.

There has been relatively no progress on a trade this offseason and with just weeks remaining before the start of training camp, Portland still hasn’t held meaningful talks. However, the hope is that will begin to change over the next few weeks. Before they pull the trigger on a deal, though, it seems like Portland is waiting for a larger market to develop.

SI NBA reporter Chris Mannix notes that one of the reasons why the Blazers have not pulled the trigger on a Lillard trade is the fact that they’re hoping a non-Heat market develops at some point. While that has not happened yet, the Blazers are willing to continue to wait to see if it happens.

Will the Portland Trail Blazers play the waiting game into the season?

Of course, the big question is how long the Blazers are willing to wait. Are they willing to take the circus to the start of training camp? Are they willing to take this to the start of the regular season? Are they willing to carry this dark cloud over the franchise all the way to the NBA Trade Deadline?

In a perfect world, the Blazers would find the offer they’re looking for before the start of the season. However, if one thing has been clear it’s the fact that that’s probably not going to happen.

For the moment, the Heat appears to be the only team willing to go all-in on Lillard. For the time being, the Blazers aren’t willing to accept that offer. That’s fair. Ultimately, it’s their decision. However, one of the consequences of not making a Lillard trade during the offseason is having to navigate the rough waters of having him on the roster while also trying to move forward with their young core.

The next few weeks should be telling and if the Blazers do get motivated to trade Lillard, we’ll probably get some wind of that soon. The start of NBA Training Camp is around the corner and these decisions only get more real with every day that passes.