https://sportsnaut.com/damian-lillard-will-only-report-to-heat-if-traded/
Damian Lillard has hoped for Portland to accommodate his trade request out of respect for both his resume and for his contributions to the Blazers’ franchise.
Remember when Dame talked about how loyal he was when other players were demanding trades? Pepperidge Farm remembers.
Even Kevin Durant had more than 1 team on his list when he asked for a trade. You can't take a contract offer like Portland gave, and then demand to go to one place, and have fans be sympathetic for you
Kyrie is the only person to actually sit out and give up money. I’d like to see how long it takes before Dame reports when he loses out on 50 mil. All talk to try and force a trade to Miami.
He ended up getting it back for the most part. I believe it was part of the trade or under the guise of mental health. Unless I’m misremembering.
The 2 sides settled & details were not released. But the point is, he sat out with the very real possibility of not making any money.
He was advised by his agents (wrongly) that he wasn’t at risk of losing any money. I think that contributed to his decision to sit out.
Remember that time I returned your lawn mower? Now it's time for you to do ME a favour.
Kyrie level entitlement if true.
Who would've though that Dame would make a bigger fuss than Durant with his demands? Sheesh...
I like Dame and feel like if he had gone about this better he would’ve came out with minimal hate but waiting until after the grant deal, only wanting to be dealt to Miami, and now threatening to sit out is a bit much.
Like he’s earned a bit of choice in wanting to go to a contender with all he’s done for Portland but if you force yourself out this kind of way you burn up your goodwill pretty quick
As a Philly fan, I was hoping there was a chance we land him (especially if we could do it without giving up Maxey).
Seeing this report, I'm glad we didn't get him because he's a punk-ass malcontent.
Yesterday I was wondering if this was some kind of smokescreen - it just doesn't make sense at face value. But even then I can't figure out how this would potentially benefit Portland or the receiving team. Then today, more chatter about him sitting out, maybe its real, after all.
The only source in the entire article is “a person familiar with Lillard’s thinking.”
“He just wouldn’t go,” a person familiar with Lillard’s thinking told Sportsnaut. “He just wouldn’t report.”
No actual quotes from Dame. Could just be his boy CJ stirring up some shit
Edit:
The Blazers are cognizant that the Brooklyn Nets declined to accommodate Kevin Durant’s trade request last summer until dealing him and T.J. Warren to the Phoenix Suns for Mikal Bridges, Jae Crowder, four unprotected first-round picks (2023, 2025, 2027, 2029) and a 2208 pick swap.
Yo I didn’t realize the Nets were collecting picks that far out. 2208 gonna be a wild draft
I understand why he requested for a trade but I feel that Dame should have handled this better.
Lifelong Blazers fan- obviously bummed about Dame requesting a trade, but his position at this point is understandable. It does surprise me how he's handling it though. Sure there's going to be lots of chatter and smokescreens (and maybe this news is part of it), but is he really so shocked that there's teams other than Miami putting in trade offers to aquire a player of his caliber? Not saying the Blazers should totally ignore his wishes but this type of ultimatum of "Miami or bust" puts Portland between a rock and a hard spot.
It's pretty extreme, honestly. He wants to be traded to One team and that one has borderline no assets. Herro is a player, but that contract isn't ideal for a rebuilding team. I can't think of a comparable situation. In every case the other team either had assets or the contract was expiring and it was a take it or leave it situation.
Yeah Herro is a good player, but as a major core asset in the return for Lillard, he doesn't strike me as a great value for the Blazers when they already have a guard rotation of Ant, Sharpe, and Scoot in a post-Lillard roster. Obviously getting a third team involved is an option, but the theoretical trade options I've seen floated around this scenario still seem light compared to other potential trade packages from other teams. I hope there is a solution where the Blazers are able to do right by Dame AND get a good return. Seems like a pipe dream at the moment.
I hope he can make his way to the Heat. Jimmy, Bam, and Damian trio would be a dream come true.