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Should Damian Lillard hit the trade market, the Boston Celtics don’t appear to be among his preferred destinations. During his appearance on “The Last Stand” with Brian Custer, Lillard was asked who he would prefer between the Celtics, Miami Heat, New York Knicks, and Brooklyn Nets. Lillard revealed which two teams he would like to play for.
“Miami, obviously,” Lillard said with a laugh. “Miami is the obvious one, and Bam [Adebayo] is my dog. Bam is my dog, for real…Brooklyn is another obvious one because Mikal Bridges is my dog too. Both have capable rosters.”
Even if Lillard named the Celtics as one of the teams he’d like to be traded to, he will be paid $48.8 million this coming season, so trading him would require combining multiple contracts to match Lillard’s salary, which may not make trading for him worth it. There have been no reports that Lillard wants a trade or that the Portland Trail Blazers have any plans to trade him.
Analyst Suggests Jaylen Brown for Damian Lillard Swap
ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith explained why he believes the Celtics should go after Lillard and why the Celtics should include Jaylen Brown in a potential deal.
“There’s a guy by the name of Damian Lillard in Portland. I wouldn’t mind getting someone like him who’s a closer, by the way, who’s a point guard as a closer, who’s a sniper. We got all of that stuff going for ourselves if you’re Damian Lillard. Obviously, he’s older than Jaylen Brown, but [for] Jaylen Brown, I think the real challenge is that he has aspirations to be that number one guy, and that is never going to happen with Jayson Tatum.”
Smith added that if Brown want to lead a team, the Celtics should try to trade for Lillard instead of complementary players.
“If he feels adamant that [he can’t serve as a 1A next to Tatum] and he needs to move on, then you need to think about an abundance of parts that you can get potentially for Jaylen Brown because he is a star in this league and he is young. Either you get an abundance of players, which I don’t think is necessary, or you get a superstar-caliber sniper like Damian Lillard to come to Boston in return for his services. If I’m the Boston Celtics, I’m looking at something along those lines,” Smith said.
Proposed Trade Swaps Jaylen Brown for Darius Garland
The Ringer’s Brian Barrett proposed a trade between the Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers in which the following would happen.
Boston Gets: Darius Garland
Cleveland Gets: Jaylen Brown
Barrett then explained why both sides would agree to exchange those players.
“Jaylen Brown, swap him with Cleveland for Darius Garland,” Barrett said. “So, Jaylen goes to the Cavs, plays with Donovan Mitchell, who, of course, he’s buddies with. And then the Celtics get Darius Garland, an elite point guard, in return. And, the reason this is intriguing to me is that the Cavaliers – they’re missing a wing. That was their weakest spot this season. They did not have a wing, and they desperately needed a wing…From a Celtics perspective, you go with Jayson Tatum and Darius Garland, where it’s like, ok, now you have another creator, another guy who can make plays for you.”
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