All has been quiet on the Damian Lillard trade front lately. We have spent much of the offseason with the Portland Trail Blazers’ superstar in the headlines, after he let the team know that he preferred to be traded. But there were stipulations set forth by Lillard that have caused a snag in any negotiations, and he still remains a member of the Blazers as we are now officially just two months from the start of the 2023-24 NBA season.
Damian Lillard Won’t Speak About The Trail Blazers
Portland Trail Blazers legend Damian Lillard’s drive for a title ‘higher than it’s ever been’ despite an uncertain future. During his Formula Zero Elite Camp, he exclusively talked to @andscape amidst rumors of him potentially being dealt to Miami. https://t.co/u5tL16tEXl #NBA pic.twitter.com/0BOC6eu6Uq
— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpears) August 24, 2023
The hold up is Lillard’s preferences. His representation made a move earlier on in the process, telling opposing teams that their client would play for one team and one team only, and that was the Miami Heat.
But there have been issues with the negotiations. The pieces that Portland apparently prefers in a trade are the ones that Miami has made unavailable, and the Blazers have expressed that they are not at all interested in receiving Tyler Herro in exchange.
It has put the entire situation at a stalemate, and it is unclear when, or if at all, Damian Lillard will get his wish of playing on South Beach. He recently sat down for an interview with Marc J. Spears, who asked him a few questions about the current happenings. When asked about the Blazers directly, Lillard had this to say:
I’m not gon’ speak on the Blazers. It’s a lot of love and respect. But you know, I won’t speak on the Blazers.
It seems like a wise move by Lillard, who is obviously unsure of what lies ahead for him in the future. But there may be a slight possibility that he plays for Portland again after all, and likely doesn’t want to burn any bridges during this particular process.
Winning A Championship Is The Ultimate Goal
Damian Lillard refuses to speak on the Trailblazers
(Via @andscape / h/t @5ReasonsSports @BradyHawk305 ) pic.twitter.com/yBVAPrKQwX
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) August 24, 2023
Lillard says that he just wants to win. He goes into detail when talking about his current championship aspirations, and that winning a ring is all that he thinks about.
The older you get, that just means more time that you’ve put into it, especially when you’re at the top of the game and you’re having all these individual accomplishments, it becomes more and more of a priority to have the ultimate accomplishment, which is why we play the game, in winning the championship. I would say the desire for that now is as high as it’s probably going to be. That’s literally the thing at the top of my list.
One interesting tidbit based on the NBA schedule that was released last week is the matchups between the Heat and Blazers this season. Portland has just one nationally televised game scheduled for the 2023-24 season, which is a date with the Miami Heat, which conveniently falls just a handful of days after the trade deadline in February.
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