Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard is one of the most talked about NBA stars heading into this offseason as rumors continue to swirl that the veteran could potentially be traded away.
Lillard spoke with Portland general manager Joe Cronin on Monday, and ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reported that the seven-time All-Star still did not officially request a trade in the meeting.
“From what I understand, the tender of the meeting was that he doesn’t want to put pressure on the Blazers, that he wants to see what they do in free agency and he’s going to give them that time to do that,” Windhorst said on Tuesday’s episode of Get Up. “He’s still not pressing from what I’ve been told. He’s still going to give the Blazers every opportunity to work through this free agency process.”
"From what I understand, the tender of the meeting was that he doesn't want to put pressure on the Blazers... it did take some people... by surprise that [Damian Lillard] didn't go forward with what everyone was expecting him to do."
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) June 27, 2023
— Brian Windhorstpic.twitter.com/2oQSKGkkfc
Based on this information, Windhorst continued to say that some teams now may move on from considering bringing Lillard to their roster because he’s not officially on the market. So far, the Heat have become the frontrunners for a possible trade centered around Lillard, should the star point guard become available.
“It did take some people in the league by surprise that [Lillard] didn’t go forward with what everyone was expecting him to do,” Windhorst continued.
Despite the various trade rumors, Lillard remains adamant about staying in Portland, where he’s spent his entire 11-year career thus far.
