Damian Lillard took to Twitter to make fans even more confused about this whole trade request saga.
Damian Lillard, paragon of superstar loyalty, has requested a trade from the Portland Trail Blazers. He has requested a trade to the Miami Heat, and he wants absolutely nothing to do with any other team. Portland GM Joe Cronin has a one-team wishlist from his franchise cornerstone.
Naturally, the discourse has been buzzing over Lillard's decision to not only demand a trade, but to demand a trade to one single team with no alternatives while actively sabotaging Portland's ability to get a premium return package.
Dame is under contract for four years and he doesn't have a no-trade clause — he can't actually force his way anywhere — but he's doing the absolute most to make sure Miami is the only viable suitor on the market.
With plenty of critics lobbing complaints his way, the 32-year-old from Weber State took to Twitter to clarify absolutely nothing.
Damian Lillard drops cryptic tweets as trade saga unfolds
At what, precisely, is Damian Lillard amazed?
Hmmmmm. What does this mean? To the untrained eye, these are innocuous, harmless subtweets aimed in no general direction with very little meaning harbored beneath the surface. To the trained eye, that is still the case.
Lillard is probably commenting on how fans pretend to have advanced knowledge of his thinking. NBA fans love drama and there's nothing better to stir up drama than good old-fashioned presumption.
He could also be aiming these tweets at reporters who claim to have inside knowledge about Lillard's thinking and, by extension, about what motivates this trade request and his desire to play in Miami.
The thing is, there's no actual ambiguity about this whole situation, which makes Dame's intentional vagueness so ridiculous. Lillard's own agent has been calling teams — and reporters — talking about how it's Heat, Heat, and only Heat. We know Lillard wanted Portland to trade the No. 3 pick. Portland went another direction. Now, despite years of very ardently proclaiming his loyalty to Portland, Lillard is asking for a trade with very little concern for how that impacts the Blazers.
And look, more power to him. Lillard isn't the first player with a team-specific trade request. Anthony Davis was Lakers or bust. Kevin Durant worked behind the curtains to orchestrate his arrival in Phoenix last season. Heck, James Harden is currently asking the Sixers to move him to one specific team — the Clippers.
That said, not every star gets their dream destination, and most high-profile requests include at least a couple preferred landing spots. The Heat have, inarguably, one of the worst feasible Lillard trade packages in the NBA. Whether teams want to give up max value for an aging point guard with four years and over $200 million left on his contract is another matter, but it's clear the Heat would be swiftly outbid on a normal market.
It's 2023, however, and no trade market is normal. Least of all when superstars with money and connections and leverage are involved. Lillard wants the Heat and the Heat are overwhelming favorites to get him. Until then, he can safely lay off the mysterious Twitter bait.
