Checking in on the Lillard Trade Saga

July 10th, 2023 | by Steve Godfrey

Could Lillard to Utah be a real thing? It’s complicated, writes Steve Godfrey. (Jeff Swinger via sltrib.com)

Rapping freestyle to promote Adidas, Damian Lillard once said, “Oakland: The city that raised me. Ogden: The city that had my back.” In his first rap album, under the name Dame D.O.L.L.A, he bars a song called Wasatch Front where the chorus continually repeats, “The Jazz up the road, I want to play for Jerry Sloan.” 

Hearing that, does it give you… hope? 

Jazz fans know these lyrics, whether or not they actually know them. NBA superstar “Dame Time,” who has two series-ending game-winners on his resume, likes Utah. You know it because it’s rare. He was an under-the-radar prospect, landed at Weber State University in Ogden, exploded onto the national scene as a prolific scorer, went sixth overall to the Portland Trail Blazers, and has since risen to All-Star and All-NBA success… and he still likes Utah. 

In fact, reflecting on those Wasatch Front lyrics, he once said, “When I went to Utah I fell in love with living there. In Oakland everything was fast-paced and you gotta stay on your toes. Then you go to somewhere like Utah with all these nice people, it was just completely different so I just appreciated that part of it. The people there saw the good in me and wanted to help me. So I was like, ‘Man if I go play for the Jazz then I wouldn’t have to leave.'”

Hearing that, does it give you… hope? 

And remember, because of course you do, when he was on a Twitter Q+A and was asked, “If you had the opportunity to sign with any team in the league today other than Trailblazers what team would it be?” Eleven words later, the Jazz were mentioned in the same sentence as the LA Lakers. 

Hearing that, does it give you… hope? 

Granted, those lyrics and references above are a half-decade old. Now, in the summer of 2023, Lillard has formally asked out of Portland. It’s been a week and change since that request hit the news and yet the point guard still remains on the Trail Blazer roster. Could the Jazz be a player in this trade demand? Let’s check in on the latest around Dame, his trade demand, and the Utah Jazz.

  • As soon as the news broke on July 1, teams were lining up to make a phone call to the 503 area code. Lillard’s representatives made it clear he wanted to wind up in Miami, but Sam Amick from The Athletic reported that Utah was one of the teams that “would love to land” the star. 
  • A few days later, Tim MacMahon and Brian Windhorst of ESPN talked about the Jazz’s chances of putting a package together on their Hoops Collective podcast. MacMahon said,
“You guys haven’t mentioned the team that can put the best ‘Dame deal’ on the table. I’m about to get on a flight and head there tonight. I think the Utah Jazz—if they want to and I know that they are at a minimum intruged by the possiblity. That’s your potential sleeper team right there—and by way I think there would be at least some satisfaction Danny Ainge might take by preventing Pat Riley from getting a star. I’m not saying that’s the motivation if the Jazz do indeed go all in here.”
  • Then, on July 10, that podcast released a few more insider crumbles as Windhorst noted that the Jazz have tried to get in on the party. He said, “It sounds like the Jazz, they kicked the tires on that, but they’re very much watching from the sidelines.”
  • On July 10, Blazer GM Joe Cronin admitted that the Miami bit puts Portland in a bind and limits their options. He said, “To have limited options like that, I wouldn’t call it frustrating, but it prevents you from perhaps getting the best return.” Acknowledging that there has been limited traction since July 1, Cronin also said, “If it takes months, it takes months” for a trade to happen and that “patience” will be his top priority in making it happen.

Hearing that, does it give you… hope? 

Where hope comes to die

Reading the tea leaves, the prognosis looks decent. But let’s diffuse the hope for a minute and be real. 

#1: Portland wants a quality young rotation piece in the trade, preferably two. You have to imagine that the Jazz front office has Walker Kessler and Lauri Markkanen as untouchable on their table. After that? Who would Portland find intriguing? Sure, Utah could pass over Kelly Olynyk and Talen Horton-Tucker as expiring contracts to fill the salary requirement,  but does that move the needle for Portland? Collin Sexton and Ochai Agbaji come to mind, but Portland is swimming with young guards to move forward with already. Jordan Clarkson doesn’t fit their timeline, John Collins just arrived and probably has a contract they don’t want. 

#2: Portland is also rumored to be looking for four first-round picks, which the Jazz could offer. Should they, though? Combined with the salary and rotation pieces, four picks is a steep number for a guy who would be making $60 million at age 36. I hear your rumblings already: He is a star! He likes Utah! Do it!  But put yourself in the chair and think if two years of prime-ish Dame Time is worth that much acreage on the farm. You must also consider how far two years of prime-ish Dame Time can get you. It’s these questions that the Jazz front office has explored in recent days, and will continue to ponder the longer Lillard sits on the shelf. 

#3: Lillard wants Miami. Yes, he has said the things before and yes he’s the type of star that would thrive in Utah, but it’s clear that Miami is the goal right now. Aaron Goodwin, his agent, is making calls to teams outside of Miami to dissuade them from trading for a star. There was even a rumor, from Goodwin, that Lillard might not even report to training camp if not traded to his preferred destination. If he doesn’t want to be with you, can you still justify the cost?

#4: Lillard wants to win. The reason these storylines currently exist is because Lillard wants to play for a contender and Portland doesn’t fit that timeline anymore. They’ve had good times with Lillard at the helm alongside LaMarcus Aldridge or CJ McMollum, but a few bad years and a few bad contracts have had the Blazers outside of the playoffs with lottery picks and young talent as their prize. A rebuild is fine, but not when you have one of the best players at the point guard position, with historic shooting skills, fighting for wins as he ends his legendary career. If Markanen and Kessler are untouchable, would pairing Lillard up with the two be a top-four seed in the West? If you are looking at the next two seasons as needing to be in automatic contention, wouldn’t Denver, Phoenix, and Golden State be ahead in the standings for sure with Memphis, Sacramento, Dallas, and the LA teams arguably ahead, too?  Lillard plus Bam Adebayo and Jimmy Butler? Lillard with Cam Johnson and Mikal Bridges? Lillard in the Eastern Conference? Those are more formidable to immediate wins than what the Jazz could realistically forecast offer. 

The caveat is that Utah has been accumulating assets for precisely this type of opportunity. They’ve been piling up draft picks and salary cap flexibility so that they can be in the conversation when a star becomes gettable. And Lillard, a superstar with Utah connections, is suddenly gettable, at least in theory.

If Portland was merely shopping for the best package, the Jazz should be in the conversation. The Miami-or-bust threat has prevented a true bidding war, but otherwise the Jazz would have the tools to make a compelling offer if they chose to. While perhaps light on tradable players who would be of interest to Portland, The Jazz have so many valuable draft picks that should tickle their ears. From their end, would you rather have a rebuild based around Utah’s threshold of draft picks or Tyler Herro, Miami’s best trade asset, or Ben Simmons, Brooklyn’s best trade asset?

If Portland wanted to unload additional salary, the Jazz could get creative on that end, too. They’ve spent most of their 2023 cap space on the Clarkson renegotiation, but their expiring contracts could help Portland clean their books moving forward. The other concern is how you trade players that Portland would want for their rebuild while still retaining enough quality that Dame would be excited to come and potentially reverse his “South Beach only” stance. 

Ain’t over ’til it’s over

So, my friends, wish as you wish. The longer Lillard remains on the Blazers, the more the Jazz have a chance to pitch. As legendary author, John Steinbeck once said, “A little hope, even hopeless hope, never hurt anybody.”

Have any feelings about Damian Lillard and the prospect of him in Utah? Comment below so we can hear your voice on where you land on the topic! 

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