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Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Entertainment
Mike McDaniel

NBA World Reacts to Damian Lillard’s Trade Request Out of Portland

Damian Lillard Portland (Organization) NBA the Trail Blazers Blazers Trail Blazers Dame (Person) James Harden Jerami Grant Shams Charania

Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard formally requested a trade away from Portland on Saturday, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic. 

The soon-to-be 33-year-old Lillard has spent his entire career in Portland, who drafted him with the sixth pick in 2012.

In 58 games for the Trail Blazers last season, Lillard averaged a career-high 32.2 points, 7.3 assists and 4.8 rebounds per game on 46.3% shooting from the floor. The seven-time All-NBA selection made it clear to Portland’s front office that he wanted to win with the Trail Blazers, but was not interested in a rebuild. After the Trail Blazers failed to acquire a star to pair alongside Lillard and drafted Scoop Henderson with the No. 3 pick in the draft last week, it was clear that something was going to give between Portland and its franchise player.

Now Lillard is destined to move on, with Charania reporting that the Heat are the desired destination for the point guard, updating the situation after initially mentioning the Nets as another main contender. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski noted that the 76ers and Clippers are also interested in putting together trade packages to acquire Lillard. ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne also mentioned the Spurs as a potential wild card.

With the future Hall of Famer finally requesting a trade, NBA Twitter went crazy on Saturday. Here are some of the best reactions from the trade request of Lillard.

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