Damian Lillard requesting trade out of Portland, specifically to Miami: Sources

By Shams Charania, William Guillory and Jason Quick

Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard has requested a trade out of Portland, league sources told The Athletic on Saturday. Here’s what you need to know:

• The Trail Blazers have been informed that Lillard wants a trade specifically to the Eastern Conference champion Miami Heat, per multiple league sources.
• The seven-time All-Star is coming off the most productive offensive season of his career. In 2022-23, he finished with career-highs in points per game (32.2), field goal percentage (46.3), 3-pointers made (4.2) and attempted (11.3) per game, and free throw attempted per game (9.6).
• Portland also has a ready-made replacement for Lillard with 2023 No. 3 pick Scoot Henderson.

The Athletic’s instant analysis:

Why Lillard would be a perfect fit in Miami

Now that Lillard has finally demanded a trade out of Portland, the Heat are on the path to being the biggest winners of the offseason. Lillard appears to prefer a move to Miami, and his arrival would likely make the Heat the favorites to repeat as Eastern Conference champions. Lillard, Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo could arguably be the best Big 3 in the NBA, and all of their skills complement each other.

Lillard would also provide a massive boost to a Heat offense that hit major road blocks at certain points last season. The Heat should do whatever it takes to pull this one off, even if it includes shipping off Tyler Herro and future first round picks in 2028 and 2030. Lillard’s arrival would extend a title window in Miami and Lillard becoming a new ambassador for “Heat Culture” seems like a match made in Heaven. — Guillory 

Why is Lillard leaving Portland now?

A day of infamy in Portland, but one that has been brewing behind the scenes for three summers. As much as Lillard tried to placate fans by continually stating he wanted to stay in Portland, behind the scenes Lillard and his agent were continually threatening the Blazers that he would leave if the roster wasn’t upgraded. Lillard’s big gripe was being unconvinced Blazers management was trying or cared about winning as much as he did, at one point depicting a scene where he had trouble sleeping after the Blazers were eliminated by Denver in the 2021 playoffs.

That brings us to today, when despite a change in general managers two seasons ago, and despite vows made by Joe Cronin to make moves in a win-now fashion, Lillard sees the Blazers no closer to being a contender, and in fact spending more time preparing for life without him than with him. — Quick 

What’s next for the Blazers?

Before we get to the return the Blazers will receive, the immediate impact on the roster is Henderson will likely start at point guard and get his chance to make a full imprint during his rookie season. Also, guard Anfernee Simons will go from trading block to being depended on being the Blazers’ leading scorer.

Simons is coming off a dynamic season when he averaged 21.1 points while making 37.7 percent on 3s. Like he did with Lillard, Simons also still stands as the backup point guard as the roster sits today. As much as this stings for Blazers fans to lose the franchise’s all-time leading scorer, it is also one of the most promising and exciting times the franchise has had since Lillard burst onto the scene and won Rookie of the Year in 2012.

The Blazers will move forward with a young core that will make them a league-pass darling for NBA fans: Henderson at point guard, Simons at shooting guard, the high-flying Shaedon Sharpe at small forward and Jerami Grant at power forward. Jusuf Nurkić is at center and under contract for three more seasons, but I would expect the Blazers to move on from Nurkić, whose main value was his pick-and-roll chemistry with Lillard. — Quick 

Backstory

Several reports, including that of The Athletic’s Sam Amick, had Miami as Lillard’s top choice. He even admitted it himself while recording a podcast with Showtime a few weeks ago.

“Miami is the obvious one,” Lillard said. “And Bam is my dawg, for real.”

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(Photo: Eric Hartline / USA Today)