The Boston Celtics are among a host of teams being floated as a potential landing spot for Damian Lillard, despite the All-Star guard clearly stating that he wants to play with the Miami Heat.
In a recent episode of The Bill Simmons podcast, Simmons noted how a move to Boston would likely put Lillard in immediate contention for a championship.
“I don’t see a trade, other than the Miami trade, which I don’t think is going to happen, that will propel him to some sort of, ‘oh now he’s on the cusp,’ unless it’s the Celtics,” Simmons said. “Now, Jaylen Brown can sign for this extension in five minutes, and this will be moot, but I just keep circling that trade wondering; it’s starting to make more and more sense to me.”
In order for Boston to acquire Lillard, they would likely need to trade Jaylen Brown, who is widely expected to ink a supermax contract extension in the coming days that would see him become ineligible to be traded for twelve months.
Analyst Floates Lillard Trade Package to Keep Brown
In a July 2 article for MassLive, Brian Robb shared a trade package that could potentially send Lillard to Boston without the Celtics giving up any of their star players – although it would cost them significant depth and draft assets as a result.
The trade looks like this:
Portland Trail Blazers receive Malcolm Brogdon, Robert Williams, Payton Pritchard, Luke Kornet, Salary filler, three future first-round draft picks, additional pick-swaps, or second-round picks.
Boston Celtics receive: Damian Lillard.
While the trade proposal looks good on paper, there’s a realistic chance another team around the NBA puts one of their star players in a deal and leaves Boston’s offer languishing in second place. Furthermore, the Celtics may be reluctant to trade for a player who clearly has his heart set on heading to South Beach this summer.
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Celtics Trade Could Put Damian Lillard in Championship Contention: Analyst