NBA insider explains why Damian Lillard will only report to training camps in Portland or Miami

It has been months already since Damian Lillard requested a trade out of Portland, but he still remains a Trail Blazers player as no NBA franchise has offered a deal that’s seduced the Oregon franchise. Ever since the veteran star first mentioned his desire to leave the club he’s played for all of his career, he explicitly asked to be transfered to Miami. 

Despite the fact that the two administrations haven’t been able to agree over their proposals, the player and his agent remain confident that the situation should resolve itself in the next weeks before the training camps open.

According to NBA insider Shams Charania, both teams are set to resume their negotiations soon, while he guarantees that Lillard will only report to camps with the Heat or remain with the Blazers.

“I expect Portland and Miami to re-engage before the start of training camps in the next two-and-a-half weeks. At this point, I’m told, the only two training camps that Damian Lillard would report to, in theory, are Portland and Miami. If a team like Toronto, for instance, were to trade for a Damian Lillard, I do not believe Lillard would even report. I believe that standing trade request would still be there if he were to be traded to a team like Toronto, or anyone else who wants to take a chance at this situation,” he said this Monday afternoon.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HhXl64dkAWA

“You look at this situation, the one thing you keep coming back to is, Miami and Portland, are they able to get a deal done or not? The league has really been on pause since early July with a lot of the major moves. Everyone’s been waiting on this,” he assured.

The basketball reporter further explained Dame’s contract situation and why it is more complicated than we might think.

“Teams around the league, ever since this trade request in early July, they’ve understood that a guy like Damian Lillard, at the age of 33, with $216 million left on his deal in the next four seasons. Him joining their program and wanting a trade immediately is incredibly un-ideal,” Charania said.

Rumor has it that Heat forward Nikola Jovic might be involved in new Lillard trade talks

According to this week’s NBA rumors, Miami forward Nikola Jovic was reportedly mentioned in recent trade talks for superstar Damian Lillard. The 20-year-old was selected 27th overall by the Heat in the 2022 NBA Draft and recently represented Serbia in the FIBA World Cup.

“Trade talks involving Damian Lillard have gone quiet of late, with the Trail Blazers seemingly holding out hope for a better offer than what the Heat currently have on the table. One of the players likely involved in those negotiations is Jovic, a second-year Heat forward who impressed during Serbia’s silver-medal run,” wrote reporter Kevin O’Connor.

Brian Windhorst believes fans should be paying more attention to Nikola Jovic

"There's a lot of Heat fans that just want to throw him in a trade for Dame Lillard… they might not feel that way after they watch him play maybe in the preseason or early season." 👀

(Via… pic.twitter.com/GDrPLbEz2A

— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) September 4, 2023

The rising star only made eight starts in 15 appearances in Miami during his rookie 2022-23 NBA season. The six-foot-ten athlete averaged 5.5 points, 2.1 rebounds, and 13.6 minutes per match while shooting 40.6% from the floor, 22.9% beyond the arc, and 94.7% at the foul line.

As for Dame, he averaged a career-high 32.2 points per game, along with 4.8 rebounds, 7.3 assists, and 36.3 minutes per game in 58 starts with the Trail Blazers last season. He also shot a career-high-tying 46.3% from field-goal attempts.