Boston Celtics: 2 potential Damian Lillard trade packages
By Jack Simone
Boston Celtics trade No. 1) No Jaylen Brown included
If Boston Celtics fans don’t want to give up Jaylen Brown, this is the sort of package is somewhere around what Brad Stevens would likely have to give up.
Lillard is a top 10 player in the NBA and the price tag will be hefty. Marcus Smart and Tristan Thompson are there to make the money work.
Past that, it’s all about young assets and picks.
Robert Williams played extremely well last season, especially down the stretch. The same can be said for Payton Pritchard, so both would likely have to be included.
Romeo Langford is more of a project, but Portland would be willing to take a chance. They might even ask for Aaron Nesmith or both.
A player of his caliber would also likely garner three to four first-round picks at the least. The package for James Harden included four firsts and four pick swaps.
The big difference between the package for Harden and a potential package for Lillard is that Harden essentially told the world he wanted to go to Brooklyn. This meant that the Rockets had a lot less leverage.
Meanwhile, Lillard has yet to even officially request a trade from Portland. This means the Trail Blazers currently have all of the leverage in negotiations.
That being said, depending on what other teams are willing to offer, a trade like this could potentially get done.
It just depends on what direction the Blazers want to go.