Following Lillard’s request for a trade on Saturday, five teams have already shown interest in trading for the all-star.
Those five teams, the Miami Heat, Los Angeles Clippers, Brooklyn Nets, Philadelphia 76ers, and Utah Jazz, can all offer attractive trade packages for Lillard.
Here are five valid and realistic trades that send Lillard to a new team.
Miami Heat receive Damian Lillard, Devonte’ Graham
San Antonio Spurs receive Tyler Herro
Portland Trail Blazers receive Kyle Lowry, Doug McDermott, Nikola Jovic, 2024 first-round pick via CHA, 2025 first-round pick via ATL, 2027 first-round pick swap via MIA, 2028 first-round pick via MIA, 2029 first-round pick via MIA, 2030 first-round pick via MIA
The only issue with this trade for Portland is that more attractive trades are on the table for the team. However, this trade wouldn’t provide a terrible start to their rebuild.
While Lowry and McDermott wouldn’t provide the Blazers any value, all of the value lies in Jovic and the future first-round picks. If this trade were to go through, the Blazers could build their team through the draft excitingly fast.
Currently, the only Blazers outgoing first-round pick originating from the team is their pick in the first round of 2024. However, this pick is lottery-protected until 2028, giving the Blazers more than enough time to tank as a team.
Considering this, on top of the six first-round picks they’d receive from the Heat, the Blazers would have two first-round pick selections from 2024-25 and 2027-30.
For the Spurs, they assist very well in this trade for both teams.
They add first-round picks, which don’t originate from their team to the stash the Blazers would receive and dump off the terrible Graham contract in exchange for Herro.
While Herro is the second-best player in this trade and would make more sense heading to the Blazers, the team is not interested in Herro, which leads to this three-team trade.
Overall, the Heat improve their chance of winning a championship next year, the Trail Blazers get an immense edge in the NBA draft, and the Spurs add a solid young player to a team that finished as the second-worst team in the league last season.
Brooklyn Nets receive Damian Lillard
Portland Trail Blazers receive Ben Simmons, Noah Clowney, Dariq Whitehead, 2025 first-round pick via PHX, 2027 first-round pick via PHX, 2028 first-round pick swap via PHX
It’s not news that the Nets have been targeting Lillard; in fact, we already provided our own similar mock trade months ago, sending Lillard to Brooklyn.
However, considering the NBA draft happened last week, this new trade is slightly modified and immediately provides the Blazers with more young talent.
For the Blazers, Whitehead and Clowney were both selected in the first round of this year’s NBA draft and would fit the new timeline in Portland surrounding Scoot Henderson and Shaedon Sharpe.
In addition to these two players, the three first-round picks would provide similar flexibility in the NBA draft we explored in the previous mock trade.
The real wild card in this trade, however, is Ben Simmons.
Simmons has had a disappointing decline as a player throughout his time in the NBA. In the 2018-19 NBA season, Simmons averaged 16.9 points, 8.8 rebounds, 7.7 assists and 1.4 steals while shooting 58% from the field. This past season, Simmons averaged just 6.9 points, 6.3 rebounds, 6.1 assists and 1.3 steals on 56.6% shooting.
Considering the fresh start Simmons would get in Portland, the chance he could return to his former self is always something that could happen.
All-in-all, the Blazers kickstart their rebuild with multiple rookies, a suitable amount of future first-round picks, and take a flyer on Simmons. The Nets turn themselves into a team to be reckoned with overnight in a weakening Eastern Conference by pairing Lillard with Mikal Bridges.
Philadelphia 76ers receive Damian Lillard
Portland Trail Blazers receive Tobias Harris, 2024 first-round pick swap, 2026 first-round pick, 2028 first-round pick swap, 2029 first-round pick
While this is likely the worst trade for the Blazers on this list, it’s still a serviceable trade should they want to accept it. Harris would probably last for only a season in Portland before he’s flipped for more assets to assist in the rebuild.
However, this trade would bring up some exciting decisions for the 76ers.
Currently, the 76ers are shopping around James Harden after he requested a trade. If the 76ers could pull off acquiring Lillard before Harden is traded, you have to wonder if Harden would change his mind.
If this happens, it’s likely the 76ers would look to trade Tyrese Maxey for a player that better fits their win-now timeline and fills the void they would have at the forward position after sending Harris to Portland.
While a trade sending Lillard to Philadelphia is unlikely, the can of worms that would open as a result is too fun not to wonder about.
Los Angeles Clippers receive Damian Lillard
Portland Trail Blazers receive Norman Powell, Nicolas Batum, Marcus Morris Sr., 2027 first-round pick swap, 2028 first-round pick, 2029 first-round pick swap, 2030 first-round pick
Similar to the trade with the 76ers trade, this isn’t an excellent return for the Blazers, but it opens some interesting avenues for the team to explore.
To start, Batum and Morris Sr.’s contracts expire after the season ends. Assuming that the Blazers will move off the Grant contract they just signed, along with Jusuf Nurkic, following this iteration of the Lillard trade, it frees the Blazers of a considerable amount of future cap space.
Although Powell doesn’t help the log jam they’d still have at the guard position, it’s a solution that can easily be fixed.
Powell only started eight of the 60 games he played last season for the Clippers, meaning he could back up Anfernee Simons at the start of next year. This would result in Sharpe moving to the starting small forward position.
While Powell could quickly fill that role, Sharpe is a better fit at the three for Portland. Additionally, Sharpe is younger than Powell and could blossom into a better player than him; Sharpe starting next year should be a no-brainer.
Additionally, Powell could be flipped for younger players and future picks at any point during his return to Portland.
For the Clippers, if Kawhi Leonard and Paul George can stay healthy through most of the season and the playoffs, the addition of Lillard will undoubtedly make them a heavy favorite to win the NBA Finals.
Utah Jazz receive Damian Lillard
Portland Trail Blazers receive Collin Sexton, Kelly Olynk, Talen Horton-Tucker (assuming he accepts his player option), Taylor Hendricks, 2025 first-round pick via MIN, 2026 first-round pick via UTA, 2027 first-round pick via LAL
This is likely the most interesting trade for the Trail Blazers.
While many of the players the Blazers receive in this trade don’t help them in the sense of a rebuild and don’t fit the Henderson timeline, the potential for them to snowball into more assets should be attractive for the Blazers.
The most picks the Blazers receive through these mock trades are six first-round picks. If the Blazers were to trade away Sexton, Olynk, and Horton-Tucker slowly, they could easily see a return greater than or equal to six first-round picks.
Additionally, acquiring Hendricks in this trade would bolster their young core to a degree that no other trade here can. Hendricks was the ninth overall pick in this year’s NBA draft, meaning the Blazers would have two of the top ten selections to start the rebuild.
For the Jazz, this no doubt turns them into a threatening team in the Western Conference, a strong contrast from their finish this past season as the 12th seed in the West.
After acquiring John Collins from the Atlanta Hawks for pennies on the dollar, their starting lineup would feature Lillard, Jordan Clarkson, Lauri Markkanen, Collins, and Walker Kessler.
Interestingly enough, the Jazz wouldn’t have to mortgage away much of their future for this trade to happen. After this trade, the team would still have ten future first-round picks in the next seven years, with six of them being their own.
Ultimately, the Portland front office has much to consider when looking at what these five teams could potentially trade to the team in exchange for Lillard. Regardless, this trade will shift the landscape of the NBA for years to come.
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