NBA

Report: Lillard finally requests trade from Trail Blazers

NBC Universal, Inc.

It appears Damian Lillard has played his last game for the Portland Trail Blazers.

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski and Ramona Shelburne reported Saturday, citing sources, that the seven-time NBA All-Star officially has requested a trade from the franchise that selected him No. 6 overall in the 2012 NBA Draft.

Watch NBC6 free wherever you are

>
Watch button  WATCH HERE

The Athletic's Shams Charania also reported the Miami Heat and Brooklyn Nets are among the leading suitors to acquire Lillard in a trade this summer.

Get local news you need to know to start your day with NBC 6's News Headlines newsletter.

>
Newsletter button  SIGN UP

The trade would solve one of the biggest mysteries to the 2023 NBA offseason.

Lillard is the Trail Blazers' all-time leader in points and 3-pointers. He led Portland to eight playoff appearances in 11 seasons and advanced to the 2019 Western Conference finals before being swept by the Warriors.

Lillard averaged a career-high 32.2 points and 7.3 assists last season. He turns 33 on July 15 and is set to make more than $44 million next season, making him one of the league's highest paid players (currently tied for 10th in salary with the Clippers Kawhi Leonard).

The highlight of Lillard's 2022-23 NBA season came in February when he scored a career-high and franchise-high 71 points in a win over the Houston Rockets. Lillard's big night included a personal best and a Blazers franchise-record 13 triples along with six rebounds and six assists.

The performance was good enough to place Lillard at No. 8 on the list of highest individual scoring games in NBA history.

Now that Lillard's trade request finally has been submitted, the next question to answer is where he'll end up.

Contact Us