The situation around the Portland Trail Blazers and 7x All-Star Damian Lillard has gotten worse. The player requested a trade earlier this month due to his disinterest to continue with the franchise’s future plans. Lillard has spent his entire career playing for the Blazers. However, the franchise has never been able to fulfill his requests of building a reliable championship-contending team.
Damian has previously expressed his views on the franchise stating that he would wholeheartedly continue to compete for them. However, the Blazers’ lack of effort to make him happy has brought them to this point. Portland wants to build a solid team with fresh talent and youth on its roster. Whereas Lillard on the other hand does not wish to play with inexperienced athletes.
Damian Lillard is adamant about being traded to the Miami Heat. Being acquired by the Heat would immediately elevate his chances of winning a title alongside star player, Jimmy Butler. While Portland has already received several trade packages for Lillard, General Manager Joe Cronin has declined all of them. As time goes by, the noose only tightens around the situation, making it harder to land a deal.
Agent Aaron Goodwin allegedly warned teams not to engage in trades involving Damian Lillard
According to NBA reporter Chris Haynes, the NBA released a memo claiming that Aaron Goodwin, Lillard’s agent, may have warned teams against trading for the All-Star. The memo stated, “Recent media reports stated that Damian Lillard’s agent, Aaron Goodwin, called multiple NBA teams to warn them against trading for Lillard because Lillard’s only desired trade destination is Miami. Goodwin also made public comments indicating that Lillard would not fully perform the services called for under his player contract if traded to another team.”
However, league authorities took matters into their own hands to investigate the rumors. While speaking to league officials, Aaron Goodwin and Damian Lillard denied these claims. Both individuals assured the league that none of it was true and that Lillard is fully committed to completing services under his contract regardless of where he ends up. The NBA further added that other teams’ descriptions of their conversations with Goodwin, which were more or less consistent.
Haynes also revealed that the NBA has informed Lillard and his team that any future comments as such would be an automatic violation of the code of conduct. This is solely because it would mean that Lillard and Goodwin are tampering with potential trades. The NBA has also informed the Players Association that such dealings would subject Lillard to discipline by the league.