Clippers Linked to ‘Very Early’ Damian Lillard Talks With Blazers

It’s no secret that Trail Blazers star guard Damian Lillard wants a trade to the Heat. But other teams may be needed to facilitate a deal, and the Clippers have explored the idea of serving as one such club, per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

But so far, it does not look like the Clippers have the type of assets the Blazers are seeking.

In fact, no one other than the Heat may have that, Wojnarowski suggested. Therefore, trading Lillard could end up being a long, drawn-out process. For now, trade talks are in the “very early” stages, Wojnarowski added in a SportsCenter appearance.

“Now it’s going to be a process over perhaps this month, August, maybe into September, for Portland to try to extract as much as they can from Miami,” Wojnarowski said. “It isn’t like Miami comes to the table and says, ‘Here’s everything we have for Damian Lillard. Here you go.’ It doesn’t start that way. They’re gauging what Portland has (had) offered to them elsewhere.”

Either way, Wojnarowski made it clear that the Clippers would “love to be a part of this process.” Do they have enough to benefit from the deal? Well, that may be another matter entirely.

Along with all this, Blazers GM Joe Cronin suggested that a Lillard trade could take a while.

“If it takes months, it takes months,” Cronin told reporters earlier this week. “We’re going to be patient. We’re going to do what’s best for our team. We’re going to see how this lands.”