The future of Damian Lillard remains questionable. But it seems more likely than not that his teammate will be moving to Phoenix.
Despite the Toronto Raptors’ unexpected interest in Lillard, negotiations are still in the early stages. However, talks between the Phoenix Suns and the Portland Trail Blazers are intensifying, according to numerous reports, and the teams are close to trading former No. 1 choice Deandre Ayton for center Jusuf Nurkic, who is 29 years old.
The relocation has obvious attraction for Portland. Portland will be looking to the future with Lillard asking for a trade, and acquiring a high-potential 25-year-old who is committed for three more years is enticing.
The only other significant long-term pay commitment for Portland is Jerami Grant, despite the fact that Ayton earns roughly twice as much as Nurkic due to the abundance of young players in the team.
Phoenix, who traded almost all of their future draft capital and then traded some of it again, is already in win-now mentality. Known as “The Bosnian Beast,” Nurkic prefers to concentrate on defense and rebounding than of using the ball. With Kevin Durant, Bradley Beal, and Devin Booker already having to share the ball, Phoenix really needs that.
Phoenix would save a lot of money on luxury taxes by trading for Ayton, and the Suns would also receive an additional player or players to bring the salary into line. Whichever team ends up with Lillard, they’d probably get that. Gary Trent Jr. might be that player if Toronto is that team.
Ayton was dissatisfied with his reduced offensive role already, and with Beal in town, it would become even more limited. Ayton had to sign an offer sheet with Indiana as a result of the Suns’ refusal to offer him a maximum contract when they advanced to the NBA Finals.
The risk for Phoenix is that they would be adding another injured player to a core of three players who missed a total of 96 games in 2017. Nurkic missed 30 games last season, and during the previous four seasons, he has only missed an average of 38 games.
Despite Lillard’s desire to join the Miami Heat, Portland’s ownership is set against sending its superstar there. Chris Haynes claims that Portland hasn’t spoken to Miami since July.
Regardless of how uninterested Lillard may be in playing in Canada, Portland would probably move forward with the trade if Toronto agreed to part with small forward OG Anunoby.
After all, Kawhi Leonard didn’t initially choose the Raptors until Masai Ujiri, the team president, traded for him prior to the 2018–19 season, when they went on to win a championship.
However, it appears highly likely that the Bosnian Beast will go along with Dame Time wherever she goes.
