Superstar trade request paves way for guard to join hated Knicks rival

There’s officially a star on the trade market, and New York Knicks fans shouldn’t expect him to wind up at Madison Square Garden.

Things were a bit too quiet to start the second day of free agency until NBA insider Chris Haynes reported that Damian Lillard had officially requested a trade from the Trail Blazers. This happened the day after Portland and Jerami Grant agreed to a five-year, $160 million max contract.

It didn’t take long for NBA fans to start to speculate that Lillard will be headed to either Miami or Brooklyn, two teams that Lillard recently said he’d be interested in being traded to. To no surprise, Haynes said that the Heat and Nets are Dame’s “preferred destinations” while Shams Charania reported that Lillard “specifically” wants a trade to Miami.

Damian Lillard expected to be traded to Heat or Nets, two of Knicks’ biggest rivals

Yes, the Knicks are in the market to trade for a star, but it wouldn’t make sense to create a Jalen Brunson-Damian Lillard backcourt. Clearly, Lillard doesn’t have much of an interest in the Knicks either, no matter how much his former teammate Josh Hart has tried to get his attention.

The Heat lost Max Strus and Gabe Vincent in free agency, two players that were instrumental in Miami’s push to the NBA Finals. Pat Riley and the Heat have had to already been preparing to go all-in on Lillard, who still has three full seasons left on his contract before having a $63.2 million player option in 2026-27.

Sean Marks and the Nets have been linked to Lillard as well, but based on what’s been reported, he seems to prefer the Heat. That doesn’t mean that Brooklyn should be counted out, even though the Nets have proven that they’re not capable of handling a star of Lillard’s caliber.

ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski added that the Clippers and 76ers are also expected to pursue Lillard and Ramona Shelbourne even reported that although the Heat are Lillard’s preference, he has “a deep respect” for the Spurs organization. Out of the five teams that have been linked to Dame, Knicks fans should be rooting for a trade to Los Angeles or San Antonio, but neither of those destinations is where he’ll likely end up.

All bias aside, Damian Lillard would be a perfect fit in Miami, which isn’t the best news for New York and every other Eastern Conference team.

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