Damian Lillard has made it abundantly clear he wants to go to Miami and their big man Bam Adebayo is a big reason for that.
Lillard has publicly said that Bam is his “dawg for real” and Bam has recently said that the pair are “close friends”, while describing how they bonded during the 2020 Olympics.
“I think it’s just demeanor,” Adebayo said of Lillard. “How he walks, how he talks, how he presents himself, we have a lot of similar characteristics. Dame isn’t the loudest person, I’m not the loudest person. We’re two down-to-earth people that gelled well in the Olympics.”
The two-time All-Star didn’t pretend like he hadn’t heard the rumors about Dame to Miami.
There seems to be not much movement in the way of Lillard getting his wish yet, but Bam made it clear he doesn’t know anymore than the regular NBA punter.
“I don’t know what’s about to happen,” Adebayo said. “The biggest thing is it’s business. Everybody wants it to make sense … obviously, the other side wants it to make sense too. I feel like it’s just a waiting game until they make an agreement, if or when it does happen.”
At this stage, it’s been over a month since Lillard requested a trade out of Portland on July 1.
There have been potential updates and trade packages floated recently but there is still no word from either camp about what is going to happen.
The 33-year-old still has another three years left on his contract with the Blazers, plus a player option.
But his current team hold all of the cards and could just keep him if they don’t get a trade package they like or even send him to a different team.
Since Lillard doesn’t have a no-trade clause, Portland are no obligation to honor any of his requests.