Playing The Guessing Game With Damian Lillard As Training Camp Nears

Miami Heat guard Tyler Herro, left, drives against the defense of Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard, right, during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Portland, Ore., Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2022. (AP Photo/Steve Dipaola)

By STEVEN VAUGHAN, 750 THE GAME

Will he report? Or won’t he? That’s the question for Damian Lillard.

Shams Charania of The Athletic is reporting that Damian Lillard will only report to training camp if he is with the Miami Heat or the Portland Trail Blazers, and if another team is to trade for the Blazers all time leading scorer then Lillard will not report to camp and will sit out.

There are local reports saying that this is not true, and John Canzano on the Bald Faced Truth says he has talked to a general manager in the NBA to see what he thinks Damian Lillard will do.

“I reached out to a NBA general manager when the Miami trade request was first made who told me that the Blazers were not inclined to trade Damian Lillard to Miami,” Canzano said on 750 The Game. “If a deal did not get done, this general manager did not believe that Lillard would sit out.”

It seems that there are differing opinions depending on who you ask, but Canzano reached out to someone with Portland Trail Blazers ties to see what he thinks Lillard may do.

“Bob Whitsitt, former Blazers team President and general manager also told me he did not believe Damian Lillard would sit out,” Canzano said.

The Charania report is interesting. We know that somebody wanted this news out there. Is it Lillard? Is it the Heat? Is it the Blazers?

I think it’s Damian Lillard and his camp that wants this news out there. They know that trade talks between the Blazers and Heat have gone nowhere. With this news coming out they are trying to deter other teams from inquiring about Lillard. That way the Blazers have to trade Lillard for the best and only offer — which is the Heat. The Blazers have said numerous times that they are going to take the best offer and not give Lillard up for pennies on the dollar.

The NBA is a deadline league. The next deadline is training camp. The Heat are still the favorites to acquire Lillard before the regular season, but the Trail Blazers seem to be playing hardball. And they should.

Listen to the segment at 1:05:43 of this podcast below. Catch the Bald Faced Truth with John Canzano weekdays 3-6 pm in Portland exclusively on 750 The Game.