Regardless of where someone’s fandom lies, at least one thing Damian Lillard and his agent deserve credit for is being brutally honest about the star’s interest in his next potential home. While trade chatter continues to swirl around the Trail Blazers star, everything continues to point back to the Heat as not only the primary focus, but it appears to be Lillard’s only team of interest at this point.
That point was driven home this week by The Athletic's Shams Charania, who reported on the latest surrounding Lillard during an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show. The overall statement was simple, though, for any teams doing their research on a possible trade for Lillard: the outcome has pointed back to the star having no interest in being anywhere other than Miami.
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According to Charania, the Celtics and Clippers are a ‘resounding no’ in terms of Lillard's interest.
“In those cases, where teams have done their backchannel research to find out what Dame is thinking, whether he wants to play for us. Whether it’s the Clippers, whether it’s the Celtics—those are among the two teams I’ve heard that have had a level of interest in Dame Lillard. I think the answer has been a resounding no. He wants to be in Miami, period,” Charania explained.
While it’s a strong statement, it can’t be considered all that surprising at this point. Lillard hasn’t flinched on his desire to join Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo in Miami, and by this point, teams like Boston and Los Angeles surely are well-aware of that.
Whether those two teams or any others still opt to make a play for Lillard remains the big question, but signs point more toward the Heat figuring out a three or four-team trade to bring the star guard to South Beach.
