Damien Lillard of the Portland Trail Blazers of the National Basketball Association (NBA) requested a trade from his team.
The Associated Press reported on the 2nd (Korean time) the Portland general manager’s announcement that “Lillard has informed that he wants to play for another club.”
The background to Lillard’s trade request was a thirst for championships. Portland was far from winning power. Since joining Lillard, Portland’s best performance has been to reach the Western Conference finals once in the 2018-2019 season.
Lillard wants to move to a team that can compete for the title. Many media predicted the Miami Heat, Brooklyn Nets, Miami and LA Clippers, and the Philadelphia 76ers as potential destinations for Lillard.
Born in 1990, Lillard is Portland’s signature player. After being selected by Portland with the 6th overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft, Lillard played only for the team for 11 years and was an NBA All-Star 7 times during that time.
In the 2022-2023 season, he performed well, averaging 32.2 points, 7.3 assists and 4.8 rebounds.
