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Damian Lillard has become the latest superstar to ask for a trade after spending 11 seasons of his career with the Portland Trail Blazers. The seven-time All-Star signed an extension with Portland last summer that keeps him under contract through the 2026-2027 season when he has a player option worth $63.2 million. Despite the extension, Lillard wasn’t thrilled about the franchise’s direction.
Michael Jordan’s agent, David Falk, weighed in on the current state of the NBA, which has seen many star players request deals with several years remaining on their contract, only for teams to comply and be sent to their first destination. Speaking to Howard Beck of GQ SportsFalk advertiser:
“I don’t need free agency because these teams, the minute a guy says ‘I don’t want to be on the team,’ they absorb him. I think it’s terrible.”
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Falk added that his recent free agency situation is one of the reasons he has stopped enjoying his role as an agent and is no longer focused on business. He claimed that being an agent no longer requires skills while estimating that 70 percent of contracts do not have negotiations. After criticizing the system, Falk, who like Patrick Ewing, disputed the idea that trade requests are driven by player empowerment, saying:
“You don’t think Michael Jordan and Patrick had the power? Of course, they had the power, but they were smart enough to know they wouldn’t do such things publicly, because it was hostile to the game they love.”
While there is a lot of backlash when a superstar player asks for a trade and has his demands met, that is not likely to change anytime soon. With players motivated to stay with their current team, it makes more financial sense to sign an extension and ask for a trade than to leave in free agency.
Does Damian Lillard end up with the Miami Heat?
Damian Lillard has made it clear that the Miami Heat is his first destination after requesting a trade from the Portland Trail Blazers. However, Portland has no interest in Heat shooting guard Tyler Hero because most of their building blocks are backcourt players.
Their lack of interest in being named the 2022 NBA Most Valuable Player severely limits the potential package Miami can put together. In order to win a seven-time All-Star title, the Heat would have to field a third team. Trail Blazers General Manager Joe Cronin has indicated that he is willing to wait months before trading Damian Lillard, if necessary.
Check out Joe Cronin’s comments on Damian Lillard’s trading below:
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