As the Damian Lillard trade buzz reaches just about a week long, ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne is reporting that Lillard, who’s from the Oakland/Bay Area, was interested in joining the Warriors before they traded for Chris Paul.
“They could have waited for Dame. Dame is from the Bay Area,” Shelburne said. “I know he was interested. … If he was going to ask for a trade … the Warriors would have been on that list.”
As it stands, Dame is now reportedly only willing to play in one place, and that’s Miami with good friend Bam Adebayo and Jimmy Butler.
Others outside of the aforementioned Shelburne have chimed in on the Lillard trade situation, including Chris Broussard of FS1’s “The Odd Couple” radio show. Broussard’s view of the situation deals with the legacy side of things for Lillard.
Broussard Breaks It Down
Broussard believes Dame signing with the Warriors wouldn’t have helped his legacy at all. During an appearance this week on FS1s show “First Things First” here’s what Broussard had to say:
“Let’s say Damian Lillard won a championship with the Warriors. This wouldn’t be like a legacy-changing ring for Dame. If he goes to Miami and they win it, if he went to Boston or Philly and they win it, it’s a legacy-changing ring. You go to Golden State, which has won four without you. It’s great! Dame finally won!! It’s awesome! Doesn’t change the legacy at all.”
Interesting but valid points made by Broussard, that definitely would’ve resonated if Lillard had actually gone to Golden State.
Moving Lillard Will Require A Three-To-Four Team Blockbuster Deal
In order for Lillard to be moved to his preferred destination, it’s going to take three teams being involved in the deal, because the Miami Heat don’t possess the assets or contracts to match what Lillard is making over the course of his deal.
So if Miami intends on keeping both Bam and Butler while landing Lillard, they’ll need a team like the Brooklyn Nets who have cap space and money and would be willing to help them get the deal done.
