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[TheNBACentral] Dame is prepared to only play for Heat & his stance is Heat-or-bust, per @sam_amick “He wants to compete w/ Butler & Adebayo, to grow inside that famed ‘Heat culture’ system under Pat Riley & Erik Spoelstra while becoming the final piece to their championship puzzle.”

  • July 2, 2023


Via (https://theathletic.com/4659589/2023/07/01/damian-lillard-trade-request-possible-destinations/?source=user_shared_article)

Joe Cronin’s (Portland GM) statement:

“We have been clear that we want Dame here but he notified us today he wants out and he’d prefer to play someplace else. What has not changed for us is that we’re committed to winning, and we are going to do what’s best for the team in pursuit of that goal.”

47 comments

  2. Damn Dame really running thru every one of the negotiation tactics in one day

  5. Can’t they trade him wherever they want? Does he have a no trade clause?

  6. Yeah I’m sorry but he’s not going to sit out like 4 years if he ends up elsewhere haha

  9. Then why name the Nets in the initial report lol.

    Miami is his first choice and should be don’t get me wrong but just seems like a lot of leverage stuff rn.

  10. What’s Dame gonna do? Drop a Joe Cronin diss track? Actually that would be funny so I hope he does

  12. Dude is actively boning the Blazers right now and people will keep trying to justify it.

  13. Crazy to think this dude went from being the most loyal guy in the league to asking out in the douchiest way possible. What a baby.

  16. Bro has earned the good will of Blazers fans and now he’s spending it goddamnit

  18. From his constant talk about “loyalty” to now his bluff about sitting out unless he plays for the Heat, Dame is giving off real poser energy.

  21. So much for the lillard hates superteams narrative from like 3 years ago lmfao

  23. From “y’all running from the grind” to “Ill only play for the team that just made the NBA Finals” what a time to be alive.

  24. That’s a crappy way to tie Portland’s hands.

    His legacy in Portland was gone in 12 hours.

    Crazy.

  25. Kawhi wanted to go to LA, and Spurs sent him to Canada. Is Dame gonna get the same treatment?

  26. Man, even KD and Beal gave a 2nd choice lol.

    Dame should have done all of this privately like how Paul George did with the Thunder and KD the 2nd time with the Nets. Just quietly tell the Blazers where you want to go, the Heat can shop Tyler Herro around without teams really knowing what they’re cooking up, and everybody probably makes it out alright.

    Instead it’s going to be weeks of posturing and Jaylen Brown’s name getting brought up every other day.

  27. When kawhi demanded a trade to LA the Spurs said “okay, bet. Hope you like the cold” and shipped his broken ass to Toronto for the best deal they could get. Toronto still got a championship on the one year rental, but Spurs got a great return (a rare win/win trade).

    What’s the Dame equivalent of this? Where could Portland ship hip that would be funny, but also have the players to give them a good return?

  28. What’s he’s gonna do if he gets sent elsewhere? Sit out and ruin his brand he’s tried to maintain for years?

  29. I’m getting so sick of the player’s requesting to play for specific teams. When AD did it I hate and I still hate it now. You signed the contract now you deal with hand being dealt in terms of the team trading you

  30. Maybe shouldn’t have signed that max contract then and become a fa and signed for the mid level.

  32. I can understand wanting to do right by Dame, but I feel like they’d have to be stupid to trade him to the Heat if they can’t end up getting the best deal out of it. If he ends up somewhere else that’s somewhat decent, there’s no way he refuses to play for 3 years lol

  37. The national sports media can attempt to dictate that no one will hold it against Dame for requesting a trade for a chance to join a championship team all they want, but if this and other reports are accurate and he’s attempting to force a trade to only the Heat, then the narrative changes.

    By limiting Portland’s ability to get anything of value for his services, taking away the chance to get more assets to help their future, imho he becomes a very unlikable player. It’s one thing to say you want to win a championship, Portland can accommodate that as there are more than a handful of teams that qualify as that and there can be a bidding war to acquire his services, leaving all parties satisfied. It’s another thing to just say you want to play for a specific other team, one who has very limited players to send back and less than desirable draft capital. If this is true it totally changes the perception of Dame and thrusts him into a villain-type role. Disappointing for Portland.

  39. Y’all saying he bluffing but even if he doesn’t sit out the entire season he probably will miss a lot of game and play half assed. This is a big risk for other teams now

  41. Yeah, well you don’t have a no trade clause, so you’ll go where they trade you.

  45. I’m just happy we don’t have to pretend he’s a good rapper anymore

  47. If that’s his stance, pull a Spurs and send him anywhere but where he wants.

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