Damian Lillard Trade Rumors: Raptors' Rivals Convinced They Have 'Genuine' Interest

As the Damian Lillard trade saga continues to drag on closer to training camp, there appears to be another serious suitor starting to emerge outside of the Miami Heat in the Toronto Raptors, according to league insider Marc Stein.

Stein reported Sunday that several teams around the league believe that the Raptors' interest in trading for the seven-time All-Star is genuine, though they are hesitant due to Lillard's strong stance on only wanting to be traded to the Heat.

The biggest question mark surrounding Toronto's interest at the moment is how willing it'll be to push all its chips to the middle of the table to acquire Lillard, who has reportedly been resistant to the idea of going north of the border, per Stein.

This wouldn't be the first time that Masai Ujiri and the Raptors' front office have traded for a disgruntled superstar, having done so in 2018 when they acquired Kawhi Leonard from the San Antonio Spurs.

That turned out pretty good as Leonard led the franchise to its first ever NBA title.

However, Leonard was never quite as adamant about landing with one team as Lillard has been about joining the Heat.

It was actually reported earlier this week that Lillard would request another trade if he were sent anywhere besides the Heat from Portland.

Considering their number of young, talented assets, the Raptors would likely be able to send a much better package to the Trail Blazers for Lillard than Miami, who has an offer centered around Tyler Herro, a couple of young players and draft compensation.