If Damian Lillard had his way, he’d be on a flight to South Beach at this very moment. On Saturday, the seven-time All-Star informed the Portland Trail Blazers that he wants a trade, naming the Miami Heat as his preferred landing spot.
However, despite Lillard’s preference, the 32-year-old point guard does not have a no-trade clause in his contract, meaning he doesn’t technically dictate where he lands. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported on Sunday that the Blazers’ front office has made it clear to potential suitors that they are “open for business everywhere in the league.”
One of those potential suitors is the Boston Celtics, who according to Bleacher Report’s Chris Haynes (via his #thisleague UNCUT podcast), are one of the teams who have inquired about the price to acquire Lillard.
Adding further fuel to the Lillard-Celtics chatter was Marc Spears of Andscape, who hinted at C’s star and MVP candidate Jayson Tatum putting on his recruiting cap in hopes of luring Lillard to Beantown.
“I’m hearing Jayson Tatum is knocking on that door now too to figure out a way to get (Lillard) to come to Boston,” Spears said during an appearance on ESPN’s NBA Today, via MassLive’s Brian Robb.
The Celtics throwing their hat in the ring in the chase for Lillard is right up team president Brad Stevens’ alley. Boston has been active this offseason, shopping Sixth Man of the Year Malcolm Brogdon and trading away their longest-tenured player Marcus Smart for Kristaps Porzingis.
The Celtics would need to offload $41.5M in a hypothetical Lillard deal for salary-matching purposes. The most obvious candidate to send out would be Jaylen Brown, who has been frequently mentioned as a target for the Blazers this summer.
With that said, the 26-year-old Brown is six years the junior of Lillard and a perennial All-Star talent. If Boston is truly looking to get over the hump, but not sell their future, retaining Brown should be a priority. Even if it comes at the expense of losing quality contributors such as Robert Williams III, Derrick White and/or Payton Pritchard.
