Damian Lillard has chosen the Miami Heat as his next team to play alongside Jimmy Butler. After the Portland Trail Blazers took Scoot Henderson in the 2023 NBA Draft, there was no turning back.
Lillard is currently under contract until the 2026-2027 season. In 2022, he signed that two-year extension worth $225 million. However, there were many doubts about his future considering the Blazers are still far away from being a contender.
Though Damian Lillard wants to leave Portland, the trade package offered by Miami hasn’t been enough. Now, there’s another problem. The NBA is seriously considering a big sanction for the star player.
NBA sends huge warning to Damian Lillard
A few weeks ago, Damian Lillard officially requested the Trail Blazers to be traded. Nevertheless, Portland’s front office might not be willing to attend his demands. If the Heat don’t have a strong trade package, there’s no transfer. General manager Joe Cronin has already warned that time is not a problem.
“We’re going to be patient. We’re going to do what’s best for our team. We’re going to see how this lands. And if it takes months, it takes months. That’s how my approach has been and will be with this.”
Even in this scenario, Aaron Goodwin, the agent of Damian Lillard, has called other teams interested to inform them that the player won’t accept any offer. Just the Miami Heat. That information was reported by Adrian Wojnarowski.
As a consequence, according to ESPN, the NBA might take action against the star and sent a memo to each team assuring that any player or his agent who makes public or private comments indicating he won’t “fully perform the services called for under his player contract in the event of a trade” will be subject to discipline.
In the memo to all the teams, the NBA clarified that Lillard and Goodwin have guaranteed that the player would commit to his current contract regardless if he goes to other team or stays at Portland. Of course, that ending is yet to be seen as Damian might have lost a lot of leverage to work with.
