Damian Lillard’s Agent Warning Teams That Blazers Star Only Wants to Play for Heat

Aaron Goodwin, the agent for Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard, has been calling teams and warning them that trading for Lillard would be a mistake, per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

Lillard reportedly only wants to play for the Heat and despite not having a no-trade clause, is seemingly trying to force his way to Miami. One way to try to make this happen is for an agent to reach out to teams that aren’t Miami — and threaten that Lillard would be disgruntled.

Lillard, who turns 33 later this month, signed a four-year, $176 million contract extension with the Blazers just last summer. He is demanding a trade a year later.

Wojnarowski and others have suggested that if Lillard is to end up with the Heat, it will likely be the result of a three- or four-team trade — as the Blazers don’t seem interested in a package that starts with Heat guard Tyler Herro. 

“As unappealing as the Heat’s prospective package might be to the Blazers, can they top it in the marketplace?” Wojnarowski wrote. “And if they can’t, do they dare keep Lillard and wait out the process to see if offers fluctuate? Brooklyn didn’t have the deal on (Kevin Durant) in July that it had at the trade deadline in February.”

Blazers GM Joe Cronin indicated in a statement that Lillard’s wishes on his next destination aren’t the priority. Instead, Cronin suggested, it’s all about the Blazers moving forward.

For ESPN+ on Damian Lillard, the Blazers and the pursuit of market value in the modern NBA superstar trade https://t.co/4H8zUeK2Tm

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 6, 2023