Grade the Trade: Celtics land Damian Lillard in mock 3-team blockbuster
By Jack Simone
The Boston Celtics and Jayson Tatum could get in on the Damian Lillard sweepstakes as the Portland Trail Blazers attempt to find a trade partner for the seven-time All-Star.
During the July 3 edition of the #thisleague UNCUT podcast, Chris Haynes of TNT and Bleacher Report stated that “the Clippers, the Timberwolves, Pelicans, Boston Celtics, those are the team off the top of my head, I’m pretty sure there were more, those were the teams that I know called out to reach out to see what it would take” to trade for Lillard.
Grade the Trade: Celtics land Damian Lillard in mock 3-team blockbuster
This report coincides with recent statements made by Marc J. Spears of Andscape, which were relayed by MassLive’s Brian Robb.
“I’m hearing Jayson Tatum is knocking on that door now too to figure out a way to get [Lillard] to come to Boston,” Spears said via Robb.
Tatum and Lillard were teammates on Team USA during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, where they were able to take home a gold medal. However, Lillard’s interest in Boston may not be there.
Roughly a month ago, Haynes reported that Lillard had no interest in playing for the Celtics, and Lillard confirmed that line of thinking during an Instagram Live. However, reports have indicated that Trail Blazers GM Joe Cronin doesn’t intend to honor Damian Lillard’s trade request to the Miami Heat, as the team will prioritize getting a return that suits them best.
The Trail Blazers would probably want Jaylen Brown, and he and the Celtics have still yet to agree to a contract extension, which is an eyebrow-raiser. However, all reporting has stated Boston’s desire to keep Brown around.
If Tatum succeeds in pitching the Celtics to Lillard and Boston can find a third team to partner with Portland in a deal, what would that trade look like?
Let’s take a look at a potential trade and grade it for all teams involved.