Damian Lillard’s request for a trade has placed the Portland Trail Blazers in a precarious position.
On one hand, Blazers general manager Joe Cronin has a chance to reel in a haul of assets to facilitate a retooling of the roster around Anfernee Simons, Shaedon Sharpe and Scoot Henderson. On the other, Cronin must also strongly consider meeting Lillard’s request and send him to a contender.
In the NBA world, not doing right by a superstar — especially one who was as loyal and patient, and is as beloved as Lillard — only serves to make a franchise look bad.
Cronin, for sure, must walk a delicate line.
An NBA source has told The Oregonian/OregonLive that Lillard’s request specifically identified Miami as his choice landing spot. And why not? The Heat are led by two All-Stars, Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo, and are coming off of losing the NBA Finals to Denver.
The addition of Lillard would make the Heat one of the clear favorites in the Eastern Conference.
But what could the Heat give back in return? Clearly, Miami would not part with Butler or Adebayo. What would be the point of Lillard going to Miami in exchange for one of the two players he seeks to play with?
What’s missing there is that young impact player whom the Heat would be willing to give up and the Blazers would want.
According to a report from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, rival NBA executives have said that Cronin is seeking a package worthy of Lillard’s star status and plans to look beyond Miami to find one.
That’s what Brooklyn was able to get from Phoenix when the Nets met Kevin Durant’s request by sending him to play with the Suns.
Phoenix got back forwards Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson and Jae Crowder, plus four unprotected first-round picks.
The Blazers wouldn’t hesitate on a similar offer. The problem is that Miami cannot make such a deal. At the moment, at least.
Miami guard Tyler Herro, reportedly, does not float the Blazers’ boat. Herro, 23, is 20-point scorer but a streaky shooter. Also, he plays shooting guard, which will be handled by Shaedon Sharpe moving forward.
The Blazers assuredly would rather acquire a Bridges-type player since small forward is their most glaring need.
Doing so could involve bringing in a third team to help facilitate a trade to the Blazers’ liking that ends with Lillard in Miami.
Or, it’s possible that the Blazers find a better deal with another would-be contender. Philadelphia could get in the mix. It tried to get Lillard from the Blazers in 2021 and 2022. But the Blazers weren’t biting. Lillard likely wouldn’t scoff at playing with the NBA’s reigning MVP, center Joel Embiid.
Another possibility is the Nets. They could use the assets they acquired from the Suns to put together a package around center Nic Claxton in order to pair Lillard with Bridges. Portland could also include center Jusuf Nurkic in the deal.
Possibilities are there. The balance is finding one that places Lillard in a good position and sets up the Blazers moving forward.
— Aaron Fentress | afentress@Oregonian.com | @AaronJFentress (Twitter), @AaronJFentress (Instagram), @AaronFentress (Facebook). Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts