As might be expected by any team in the hunt for an NBA title, the Boston Celtics have reportedly been among the teams contacting the Portland Trail Blazers about what it might take to pry star point guard Damian Lillard loose amid rumors the Blazers guard wants a new home.
New reporting from “This League Uncut’s” Chris Haynes relates how when word of Lillard’s availability broke, “I won’t say put a hold on the league, but it did cause teams to pause: ‘OK hold on, let’s wait on what we had planned, let’s look to see if we got a shot.”
“The Clippers were one of those teams who did that, the Minnesota Timberwolves, New Orleans Pelicans, Boston Celtics,” he continued.
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“Those are the teams that off the top of my head,… that I know called out to reach out to see what it would take (to trade for Lillard).”
With Lillard earning $45 million this season, it would take a substantial part of the contracts on Boston’s roster to make such a move happen, involving key players and significant draft capital. Whether the move would be worth it is certainly debatable, particularly if the only viable path for both sides were to include star forward Jaylen Brown.
It would be near-managerial malpractice not to at least inquire what the ask might be, however.
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