The Portland Trail Blazers have a franchise-altering decision to make this year as they sift through offers for superstar Damian Lillard.
Lillard finally decided to ask out from the Trail Blazers after several years of underwhelming results and is ready to move on to his next team.
So far, the Miami Heat have been considered the long-running favorites to land Lillard as they look to maximize their championship window with Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo.
Portland and Miami have been trying to work out details on a potential blockbuster, and while there’s been some reported progress nothing has come to fruition.
To make things interesting, it seems as though another Eastern Conference team has entered the Lillard sweepstakes via Marc J. Spears of ESPN.
“I’m kind of hearing rumors about another Eastern Conference team that I’m not gonna throw out there just yet,” Spears said.
A mystery eastern conference team have held trade talks centered around Damian Lillard, per @MarcJSpears
“I’m kind of hearing rumors about another Eastern Conference team that I’m not gonna throw out there just yet.” pic.twitter.com/WZFiDKfG3P
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) September 18, 2023
Although the report is vague, that hasn’t stopped fans from speculating who the mystery team could be.
One intriguing name is the New York Knicks who have been heavily linked to Donovan Mitchell, though they could be pivoting if they sense a deal for Lillard can be made.
The Toronto Raptors could be another sleeper team as they’ve got a roster built to compete in the playoffs though are missing a bonafide superstar.
Another intriguing option could be the Brooklyn Nets as they’ve got several wings and draft picks to dangle in trades in order to speed up their rebuild.
Whoever the other team is will need to offer Portland a haul of assets in order to land Lillard and it will be interesting to see who actually meets their price.
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Reporter Shares Grim Reality About Trail Blazers’ Trade Demands
