It looks like the Damian Lillard era is all but over for the Portland Trail Blazers.
He asked to be traded a few weeks ago, and he said that the Miami Heat are the one team he wants to head to.
However, the Blazers do not seem to be in any rush to trade him, and the process could last all summer.
According to NBA insider Marc Stein, the holdup has to do with Portland being upset that Lillard wants to go to Miami.
“I do think Portland’s just upset with the fact that it came out so quickly & so adamantly that [Dame] wants to go to the Miami Heat. I think there are people in the Blazers organization that are still bothered by that. I think that’s the delay” – @ByTimReynolds via @TheSteinLine pic.twitter.com/4JWdft3Qb1
— Dru (@dru_star) July 23, 2023
Lillard has played his entire 11-year NBA career with the Blazers, but he has largely languished on teams that have been either bad or mediocre.
For years, they regularly exited in the first or second round of the playoffs, but over the last couple of years, they have done a reboot, as they have gone with a youth movement around Lillard that has resulted in them missing the playoffs both of the last two seasons.
Although many are sympathetic to Lillard’s situation and feel he deserves a shot at a world championship, some lament the fact that he, in their minds, is trying to dictate who he will play for.
He may be coming off his best season yet, as he averaged a career-high 32.2 points a game this past season.
If Lillard were to end up with the Heat, who just lost in the NBA Finals, he would likely make them the favorites to come out of the Eastern Conference again, and he just could end up with the championship ring that has eluded him.
NEXT: Blazers Reporter Details The Best Return They Can Get For Damian Lillard
