Portland Trail Blazers training camp begins on October 3 and for the time being all attention remains squarely fixated on the future of superstar point guard Damian Lillard.
Lillard, who is still owed $216 million guaranteed over four years, requested a trade from Portland back in July after 11 seasons with the franchise.
While the seven-time All-Star is not expected to hold out or be a no-show for training camp, Blazers coach Chauncey Billups admitted the situation is “unsettling” in an interview with NBA.com.
The Heat have been linked to Lillard as his preferred trade partner, although there have long been doubts that Miami has the kind of package to entice Portland in a straight two-way deal.
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In that sense, Portland has been said to be exploring potential multi-team deals and those talks have continued recently according to ESPN insider Adrian Wojnarowski.
“Portland is trying to put together a number of multi-team scenarios to see what they can get the assets back in a trade for Damian Lillard,” Wojnarowski said this week.
“They have been aggressive here in the last weeks… only because the league started up again. Labor Day comes, teams are engaging again. I do think they’re engaging. The question is do they find a deal in the next couple of weeks or do they have to bring Lillard back to camp?”
That is consistent with reporting from Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian, who said there “hasn’t been great traction” between the Blazers and other teams on a potential trade.
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“They are talking to other teams in terms of trying to find another team who might give them an offer for Lillard, two other teams who might get involved might have nothing to do with Miami in a trade,” Fentress said on the Blazer Focused podcast.
“And maybe Lillard goes to one of those teams that’s out there. I’m told that there’s not great traction in these areas, that they’re really not being wowed by anything that’s substantial.”
According to Phoenix sports insider and radio broadcaster John Gambadoro, there could be a resolution to the trade saga very soon though.
“Damian Lillard is going to get traded very soon… I’m expecting a Damian Lillard trade imminently,” Gambadoro said on Arizona Sports Radio.
“I would even say probably within the next 24 hours, I am expecting from what I’m hearing, a Damian Lillard trade.”
Any potential Lillard trade could also have a flow-on effect on the future of Suns big man Deandre Ayton, according to Gambadoro.
Gambadoro took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to clear up speculation surrounding Ayton’s future at Phoenix.
“Let me address some of the Deandre Ayton rumours. The Suns have not been willing to move DA all summer because they think he fits well and there were no offers that would change that. If Nurkic was on the table I would be surprised if the Suns didn’t look into it because an argument could be made that is an upgrade for Phx,” wrote Gambadoro.
“This would be contingent on Dame being moved. Portland has previously shown no interest in DA but that was with Dame staying. If they do not have Dame on the roster they could very well want a young 25-year old to build around Vogel needs a defensive minded Center to build his defence around and Nurkic does fit that Mold. This would be contingent on a Lillard trade and I do expect that to happen very, very soon.”
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It comes amid a report from Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports, claiming Phoenix has been described as a “dark horse” team to help facilitate a Lillard trade.
“While the Suns lack the assets and/or contracts to trade for Lillard or Harden themselves, one source referred to the Suns as a “mystery team” in regards to their potential involvement. Another called them a “dark horse” to help facilitate a deal as an additional party,” wrote Bourguet.
“Talks are heating up around the league with teams like Portland, Miami, Philadelphia, Chicago and Toronto all very active right now. The Suns could be the mystery team needed to get some of these deals done per my conversations.”
ESPN insider Brian Windhorst said on Behind The Play that Portland is “trying” to strike a deal and that there has been more movement on the Blazers’ front in the past week or so.
“There is attempts to make something happen,” he said.
“I think they’re making an attempt to try to resolve this before training camp. They may get there, they may not. To me the unknown really is where Scoot Henderson is on [this], I’ve said I’m interested in hearing what he says from day one.”
CONTENDERS LINKED TO HIELD AFTER EXTENSION TALKS WITH PACERS STALL
Elsewhere, in a more recent trade development, the Indiana Pacers are looking to move Buddy Hield after extension talks between the two parties stalled.
That is according to a report from The Athletic’s Shams Charania, who claimed there have been talks about an extension to Hield’s $19.3 million contract for this season.
“But it’s believed their proposal did not make the seven-year guard feel desired,” league sources told Charania.
While any potential trade is only in its early stage at this point, Hield would be a valuable addition to any contending team after shooting 42.5 per cent from downtown last season.
As Charania explained on ‘The Rally’, it is not just a case of Hield not getting the kind of extension he believes he deserves, with the 30-year-old also looking at a lesser role in the team.
“I think you look at any contending team,” Charania said when asked which franchises could show interest in Hield.
“The Lakers were long rumoured for Buddy Hield but you look at teams like Dallas, Philly, Milwaukee. Those are the types of teams that could definitely use a shooter like Buddy Hield and I think they’ve had a level of interest in him over the last several months. When you look at the Pacers’ roster… Kevin Pritchard said in April, ‘We might want to extend Buddy Hield’. He was really non-committal but a lot of it came down to role.
“They have Ben Mathurin, who they drafted last year in the lottery. He’s going to have a bigger role this year, might even begin the year starting and really become a full-time starter. “Andrew Nembhard, he had a great rookie year as well. He’s due for a bigger role in the line-up as well, so Buddy Hield is likely looking at a reserve role and we’ll see how that takes place and how impacts him, his role and his value. I think that’s why it’s likely going to go into the season in terms of Buddy Hield and his future in Indiana.”
