ESPN: Damian Lillard 'Absolutely Did Not' Request Trade; Won't Pressure Blazers in FA

Damian Lillard could be inclined to at least start the 2023-24 season with the Portland Trail Blazers.

Appearing on Get Up, ESPN's Brian Windhorst noted Lillard "absolutely did not" request a trade during a recent meeting with members of the Blazers' front office and won't put pressure on the team in free agency:

"This was the meeting that a lot of the league was watching to see if Damian Lillard requested a trade, and he absolutely did not. In fact, from what I understand, the tenor of the meeting was he doesn't want to put pressure on the Blazers, that he wants to see how they do in free agency, and he's going to give them that time to do that. So, this is an interesting strategy move.

"He said at the end of the season, 'Get me veterans.' The draft came and went, no veterans. He's still not pressing, from what I've been told. That he's still going to give the Blazers every opportunity to work through this free-agency process this week, whether it's through trades or signing players. Now, I would tell you that this is going to potentially cause some teams who were going to make offers for him to have to move on with business. They were waiting to see whether Dame Lillard was going to be on the market before they started to make moves this week.

"Now, some teams are going to have to make a decision, either go forward or wait around. Lillard is going to wait around. It's certainly a move. I guess it's not surprising considering the way Dame has operated with the Blazers now for years, but it did take some people in the league by surprise that he didn't go forward with what everyone was expecting him to do."

Blazers general manager Joe Cronin issued a statement on Monday about his meeting with Lillard and his agent, Aaron Goodwin, in which he said the team is "committed to building a winner around Dame."

Portland's decision to use the No. 3 pick in the 2023 NBA draft on Scoot Henderson led to immediate speculation about Lillard's future with the organization.

Lillard told reporters at the end of last season he doesn't "have much of an appetite for building with guys two and three years away and not really go after it."

Even though the Blazers didn't acquire a veteran player via trade before or during the draft, Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium (h/t RealGM.com) reported on June 22 the timeline for Lillard to make a decision about his future could go into "the start of free agency and into free agency."

Lillard is doing a good job of making it known where he might like to play if he requests a trade from the Blazers. He cited the Miami Heat, Brooklyn Nets, Boston Celtics and New York Knicks as ideal landing spots in a hypothetical trade in an interview on The Last Stand with Brian Custer (h/t Yahoo Sports' Callie Lawson-Freeman).

More recently, Goodwin had to downplay a recent Instagram Live video from Lillard in which he was smiling and laughing with Will Smith's "Miami" playing in the background.

"The music was just a coincidence," Goodwin told The Athletic's Sam Amick. "Damian's not disrespectful. He's not an instigator, so he's not going to do anything out of character. There would be no reason for him to do that. That's why he laughed (in the video). It's a funny coincidence that a DJ would put that on."

Portland still has the ability to trade Henderson if that's the direction Cronin decides to take. Anfernee Simons has also been rumored to be a potential trade candidate as the team tries to build around Lillard.

Even though teams would certainly like to have a definitive answer about what Lillard wants to do before the start of free agency, it seems unlikely there would be a limited trade market if he were to announce around the start of training camp he thinks it's in his best interest to leave Portland.

Lillard is under contract to the Blazers for three more seasons with a player option for 2026-27. The seven-time All-Star has spent his entire career in Portland since being drafted No. 6 overall in 2012.

The Blazers have missed the playoffs in each of the past two seasons. It's the first time that's happened since 2011-12 and 2012-13.