Damian Lillard named the franchise he wouldn't mind being traded to / News - Basketnews.com

Damian Lillard picked the Miami Heat as his preferred destination in case the Portland Trailblazers decided to trade him.

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Portland Trail Blazers All-Star guardDamian Lillardexpects to be in Portland when the 2023-24 NBA season begins, but also says he’d be interested in joining the Miami Heat or Brooklyn Nets should the possibility arise.

Damian Lillard

MIN:36.32PTS:32.17 (60.57%)REB:4.79As:7.33ST:0.86BL:0.31TO:3.29GM:58ProfileNBA2022/2023

When on Showtime’s The Last Stand, Lillard was asked about hypothetical trade destinations - the New York Knicks, Brooklyn Nets, Miami Heat, or Boston Celtics.

Among all those options, Lillard didn’t hesitate to pick Miami as the one he would covet the most.

“Miami obviously,” Lillard said. “Miami is the obvious one, and Bam (Adebayo) is my dawg. Bam is my dawg for real. Miami is the obvious one.”

Lillard echoed the same sentiment with the Brooklyn Nets because of similar feelings with star wing Mikal Bridges, who was acquired in the blockbuster Kevin Durant trade in February.

“(Portland) could trade me to somewhere that we all say, you know, ‘This is a contender,’” Lillard said on The Last Stand.

“But what is it going to cost for me to get there? What is it going to cost that team that we’re saying is a contender for me to get there? And how is it a guarantee that we’re gonna be playing in June when I get there? How do we know if everybody’s gonna be healthy? How do we know if it’s gonna work out?" he asked.

“I think I’ve made it clear what my wishes are; I want to have an opportunity to win in Portland. And right now, we got an opportunity to build a team that can compete. That would be the number one thing, but if we can’t do that, then, obviously like I’ve said, it’s a separate conversation we would have to have. You’ve got to let things take its course and see where it lands and go from there.

People make fun of it, like, ‘Run from the grind!’ But I’m not a fool. I’m not crazy. I love the organization I play for, I love the city I live in and I’m going to give them every opportunity to give me or give us what we need to have a true chance to compete for that.”

Lillard has three years and $153 million guaranteed left on his contract plus an additional $63.2 million player option in 2026-27.

The 32-year-old guard put up a career-best 32.2 points per game last season after returning from abdominal surgery. Despite that, the Blazers missed the playoffs for the second year in a row, leading to increased speculation about Lillard’s departure.

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