Getty Jayson Tatum, Damian Lillard
The Damian Lillard saga persists for the Portland Trail Blazers. After the seven-time star made his trade request, he still remains with the team. Boston Celtics superstar Jayson Tatum was asked if he was recruiting Lillard to join the team. Tatum’s response was both concise and direct.
“Nah. I ain’t got nothing to do with that,” Tatum said, per Ball Don’t Lie’s Twitter account.
Jayson Tatum has “nothing to do with” recruiting Dame to Boston 🤫
It’s possible that Tatum hasn’t been recruiting Lillard because the latter has made it clear, through his agent Aaron Goodwin, that he wants to play for the Miami Heat and the Heat alone. Lillard has remained steadfast in his desire to play for South Beach with no indication that he’s willing to compromise, though that may change since the Trail Blazers still have not granted his request to do as such.
Tatum and Lillard have experience playing together on the basketball court. Just not in the NBA, as the two of them played together on the 2021 USA Men’s Basketball Roster, where they would go on to win Gold.
Celtics Have No Interest in Damian Lillard: Report
With Lillard wanting to go play for the team that last eliminated the Celtics from the playoffs, perhaps Boston would then be more motivated to acquire him before the Heat have the chance. According to The Boston Globe’s Adam Himmelsbach, that isn’t the case.
On July 6, Himmelsbach reported that the Celtics have no interest in trading for Lillard, though he added that they could still get themselves involved.
“The Celtics have no intention of entering the Damian Lillard sweepstakes, according to league sources. Things can change suddenly, of course. Maybe Boston gets pulled in as a third team in a deal. But the Celtics are not pursuing the Trail Blazers star, whose trade request has become the story of the NBA offseason.”
Lillard could very well change his tune as more time passes. He may either rescind his request, or he may be willing to join other teams besides the Heat.
Proposed Trade Sends Damian Lillard to Celtics
While it appears that the Celtics don’t have interest in acquiring Lillard for the time being, there are scenarios in which the Celtics could acquire him, and they could do it without trading Jaylen Brown for him.
On July 2, Brian Robb of MassLive proposed the following trade between the Celtics and Trail Blazers that would not include Brown:
Trail Blazers receive Malcolm Brogdon, Robert Williams, Payton Pritchard, Luke Kornet, Salary filler, 3 future first-round draft picks, additional pick-swaps, or second-round picks
Celtics receive: Damien Lillard
Robb acknowledged that there would probably be better offers for Lillard than this one, but that it is better than what the Heat have to offer.
“This is probably an offer that gets topped by any team willing to include a star-level young player and/or elite picks but the Blazers get a good contract here in Williams, could spin Brogdon for other assets and bank on some long-term draft capital from Boston,” Robb wrote. “It’s a better offer than the Heat but unlikely to top other deals the Blazers see in negotiations. Still, its an offer worth making if other teams drop out of the mix.”