Damian Lillard Trade Rumors: Celtics Not Expected to Pursue Blazers Star

The Boston Celtics could use an upgrade at point guard after trading Marcus Smart to the Memphis Grizzlies in the three-team deal that landed them Kristaps Porziņģis, but don't expect the franchise to land a big fish like Damian Lillard.

The Celtics "have no intention of entering the Damian Lillard sweepstakes," according to Adam Himmelsbach of the Boston Globe.

"Things can change suddenly, of course. Maybe Boston gets pulled in as a third team in a deal," Himmelsbach added. "But the Celtics are not pursuing the Trail Blazers star, whose trade request has become the story of the NBA offseason."

However, ESPN's Ramona Shelburne reported Wednesday on NBA Today that the Celtics have at least "expressed some interest" in acquiring Lillard this summer.

Shelburne said:

"When you look at the league and his stated preference is to win, and teams that have the assets and maybe the ability to get this done, the Boston Celtics have the ability to get this done...I know they have expressed some interest already in this, but this is not a team that is necessarily on the list, this is not a city that he would necessarily welcome going to right now, at least from what I understand, but as far as a team that can win and that actually has the assets to do it, they make a lot of sense."

Marc Spears of Andscape also suggested during an appearance on NBA Today over the weekend (h/t MassLive's Brian Robb) that Celtics star Jayson Tatum was trying to recruit Lillard to join Boston.

Lillard finally requested a trade from the Trail Blazers after years of speculation that he might want out of Portland due to the team's inability to contend for an NBA title.

The 32-year-old's preference is reportedly to join the Miami Heat alongside Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo. The Celtics could probably offer a better package to Portland for Lillard, but then they'd risk having a potentially unhappy superstar on their roster.

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported Thursday that Lillard's agent has been calling teams and warning against trading for the veteran point guard. His agent is telling franchises "outside of Miami that trading for Lillard is trading for an unhappy player."

With the Celtics keen on signing Jaylen Brown to an extension, ESPN's Zach Lowe suggested on NBA Today that a potential trade package for Lillard could include Robert Williams III, Malcolm Brogdon and several draft picks.

After acquiring Porziņģis, trading Smart and sending Grant Williams to the Dallas Mavericks in a sign-and-trade, the Celtics still need some depth at point guard given Brogdon's injury history.

Brogdon was initially supposed to be included in a three-team trade involving Porziņģis, the Washington Wizards and the Los Angeles Clippers. However, the Clippers backed out due to injury concerns involving Brogdon, who played part of the 2023 playoffs with an elbow ailment.

The Celtics are set to enter the 2023-24 campaign with a point guard rotation that includes Brogdon, Derrick White, Payton Pritchard and Dalano Banton.

Although Boston landed an upgrade in Porziņģis, the general consensus is that the C's have gotten worse this summer. There's still plenty of time for the franchise to add some more assets, but time is ticking.