Lillard wants trade from Trail Blazers
Damian Lillard has said repeatedly that he wants to contend for a championship. After 11 years in Portland, he has decided he needs to move elsewhere to do that.
Lillard asked the Trail Blazers for a trade, a move that will end the seven-time All-Star’s tenure with the team. The 32year-old will generate interest from the Miami Heat and Brooklyn Nets, among others, according to people who spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity because no details were announced publicly. One of the people told the AP that Lillard’s preference is Miami — the reigning Eastern Conference champion — though that hardly guarantees the Trail Blazers will work to facilitate that specific move.
“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,” general manager Joe Cronin said in a statement distributed by the Blazers Saturday. “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.”
Lillard is coming off a season in which he averaged 32.2 points for the Trail Blazers. He is a seven-time All-NBA selection and was selected to the NBA’s 75th anniversary team — but he has never been close to a title in his 11 seasons in the league. His decision was revealed on the second day of NBA free agency, after Portland made a huge splash on the first night by retaining Jerami Grant with a $160 million, five-year deal.
The Blazers have won only four playoff series in Lillard’s 11 seasons, making the Western Conference finals once during that span. The team went 33-49 this past season, the second consecutive year of finishing well outside the playoff picture.
But Lillard has averaged at least 24 points per game in each of the last eight seasons, and his career average of 25.2 points ranks fourth among active players (with at least 375 games) behind Kevin Durant, Joel Embiid, and LeBron James.
He had a 71-point game this past season against Houston, has 17 games of at least 50 points in his career — two of them in the playoffs — and is a past rookie of the year, teammate of the year, and winner of the NBA’s citizenship award. He’s even an Olympic gold medalist, winning one alongside Miami’s Bam Adebayo at the Tokyo Games and raving about how much he enjoyed playing with the Heat center.
It will take a massive haul of probably both players and draft picks to trade for Lillard. He will make almost $46 million this coming season and could make as much as $216 million over the next four if he exercises his option for 2026-27.
Free agents mostly stay put
The Los Angeles Lakers kept two of their best guards. And the Milwaukee Bucks retained their big man, as the early trend in free agency of most players staying put continued. Dillon Brooks, though, is off to a new beginning in Houston.
Austin Reaves agreed to a four-year deal that could be worth $56 million, and
D’Angelo Russell returned to the Lakers as well on a $37 million, two-year deal, people with knowledge of those transactions told the AP. They were starters in the postseason for the Lakers, who made the Western Conference finals before falling to the eventual NBA champion Denver Nuggets.
Also, Milwaukee — which had already retained Khris Middleton — kept Brook Lopez on a two-year deal, a person familiar with the agreement told the AP. The Athletic and ESPN reported the deal for the 35-year-old was worth $48 million.
Russell Westbrook agreed to a twoyear deal to remain with the Los Angeles Clippers. ESPN reported the deal was worth $8 million.
Brooks — who made lots of headlines for his talking, on and off the court, during Memphis’s first-round playoff series against the Lakers — is getting a new home in Houston, agreeing to a four-year deal worth nearly $80 million, a source told AP. ESPN reported it may become a sign-and-trade, one that would create a massive trade exception for the Grizzlies.
Max Strus found a new home. Strus, who helped Miami get to the NBA Finals, is headed to Cleveland, agreeing to a $63 million, four-year deal that was finalized Saturday by making the transaction part of a three-team trade, according to two people familiar with the negotiations. Strus goes to the Cavaliers, who will send Cedi Osman and Lamar Stevens to San Antonio while Miami gets future second-round draft compensation.
Cleveland clearly prioritized shooters. The Cavs struck deals with Caris LeVert ($32 million, two years) and Georges Niang ($26 million, three years) on Friday.
The Knicks added another former NCAA champion from Villanova by agreeing to a deal Saturday with Donte DiVincenzo. The swingman joins college teammates Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart with a four-year, $50 million deal, a person with knowledge of the details said.
Orlando retained Moritz Wagner ($16 million, two years) and the Heat added
Thomas Bryant ($5.4 million, two years, second at his option) from the Nuggets.
Dwight Powell agreed to return to the Mavericks on a three-year deal. He was a secondary piece in the 2015 trade with the Celtics that landed Rajon Rondo in Dallas.
Most deals cannot be finalized until July 6, and Strus became one of the biggest names to leave for a new team in the early stages of free agency. Fred VanVleet ($130 million, three years) left Toronto for Houston, and Bruce Brown Jr. ($45 million, two years) left Denver for Indiana.
Heat send Oladipo to OKC
The Heat traded Victor Oladipo back to the Oklahoma City Thunder, one of five teams he has played for, late Friday night in exchange for future draft compensation, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. The move will create a $9.45 million trade exception for the Heat, said the person. It’s unclear when Oladipo will next be able to play. He tore his left patellar tendon in April. The 31-year-old guard underwent his third major surgery in the last four years — the other two were on his right knee area — and there is no timetable for his return . . . The New York Knicks are trading Obi Toppin, a former lottery pick, to the Indiana Pacers. The Knicks will get back two second-round picks, a person with knowledge of the details told The Associated Press. The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the trade is not yet official . . . Some players eligible for rookie-scale extensions also cashed in on deals that will take effect in 2024-25. Desmond Bane in Memphis and
Tyrese Haliburton in Indiana struck agreements that will be worth an estimated
$207 million apiece over five years. LaMelo Ball agreed to the framework of a similar deal with Charlotte, a person with knowledge of the details said, and ESPN reported Sacramento’s Domantas Sabonis agreed to a $217 million, five-year deal including $195 million in new money.