NBA Trade Rumors: Damian Lillard, Blazers 'Prepared' to Start Camp Without Deal

Both the Portland Trail Blazers and Damian Lillard are prepared to start the season without an answer to Lillard's trade request, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

"This is an organization that is fully prepared, and I think Damian Lillard perhaps is also prepared for the possibility, that this training camp may start with him in camp," Wojnarowski said on Thursday's episode of NBA Today. "And then if you're the Blazers you wait and see what happens in the first 20, 25 games of the season to see what direction teams go in."

That wait could help the Blazers facilitate a multi-team deal, "which is what a Damian Lillard trade might look like," Wojnarowski said.

Wojnarowski's comments begin at the 1:15 mark of the video below.

The Blazers confirmed in early July that Lillard had requested a trade after 11 seasons and seven All-Star campaigns with the organization.

After 20 to 25 games of the 2023-24 season, "teams may become interested who weren't interested now, and teams who are interested may be willing to give more in trades," Wojnarowski said.

Wojnarowski's analysis lines up with general manager Joe Cronin's comments during a press conference in July, when he said the Blazers were willing to wait "months" for a satisfactory Lillard trade.

"I think the teams that have ended up in the most positive situations post-trade have been the ones that have been really diligent in taking their time and not been impulsive, or the teams that really kept their urgency under control," Cronin said. "We're going to be patient. We're going to do what's best for our team. We're going to see how this lands. And if it takes months, it takes months."

Lillard averaged a career-best 32.2 points per game last season. He said in April, after the Trail Blazers missed the playoffs for the second consecutive season, that he wanted the Blazers to prioritize competing now over developing young talent, The Athletic's Jason Quick reported.

Then, instead of packaging the No. 3 overall pick in a pre-draft trade, the Blazers drafted Scoot Henderson. Nine days later, Lillard requested a trade.

The Oregonian's Aaron Fentress reported in July that the Blazers were looking for "in the neighborhood of four first-round picks and two quality players" for Lillard, but that "accomplishing that could require adding a third team to the equation."

According to Wojnarowski, the Blazers' best chances of setting up that three-team trade will come in November.