NBA News and Notes: Damian Lillard Trade Talks Dominate Summer League

With a deal yet to be struck, the Trail Blazers star’s potential landing spot continues to be a topic of conversation.

Cleaning out the notebook after a few days at the NBA’s annual end-of-season—or is it beginning?—event …

• Damian Lillard’s future was a hot topic among team officials. While Trail Blazers GM Joe Cronin claimed to be in no rush to make a deal—a position we covered earlier this week—most league-types believe it’s inevitable Lillard winds up in Miami. What’s worth watching is if someone will emerge as a competitor to force the Heat to sweeten their offer. Boston’s interest is believed to be nominal, while Philadelphia has to sort out what it’s doing with James Harden before it can even consider a Lillard trade. Right now Miami is all the Blazers have got.
• At the Blazers’ media availability, I asked Chauncey Billups for his thoughts on Lillard’s trade request.

“It’s been a whirlwind over the last, I don’t know, six weeks, however long it’s been,” said Billups. “And I have a very, very close relationship with Damian, and he’s in a spot right now where he has to make decisions based on what he needs in his career and his life. Those decisions are not only basketball decisions when it comes down to family; it comes down to a lot of things. I have a lot of very intimate, detailed talks with him about these things that I would never share with anybody, obviously, but it’ll play out how it plays out.”

“I always say you can’t control fate, you can do whatever you want. You can’t control fate. So we’ll see how it plays. But for me as a coach, there’s a lot of other guys on the team that I have to coach and that I have to be here for, that I have to mentor, I have to teach, and I want us to just continue to move forward, however we do that. And Joe is doing a really good job of handling the situation. This is just professional sports, and I’m going to do the best job that I can no matter what’s going on. That’s just kind of how I’m wired, anyway.”

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Portland has indicated it’s in no rush to trade Damian Lillard :: Petre Thomas/USA TODAY Sports

• Speaking of Portland, Scoot Henderson played just 21 minutes in the Blazers’ Summer League opener, but opinions of him among the NBA decision-makers that I talked with are sky high. In talking to execs about Henderson/Brandon Miller—two players whose careers will be forever intertwined—a couple of team officials wondered whether San Antonio would regret passing on Henderson down the line. High praise considering who the Spurs walked away with.
• And speaking of Victor Wembanyama, don’t look here for a hot take on his two-game Summer League stint. His defense is clearly going to be his strength early—he blocked eight shots and altered a whole bunch more—while his perimeter shooting, particularly a shaky three-point shot, will be a work in progress. He’ll also discover quickly that high dribble of his won’t get him by NBA defenders. But the talent is obvious and there’s little doubt amongst league officials that Wembanyama will develop into a star, especially in a Spurs system that won’t rush him.
• Expansion is coming, at least that’s the impression Adam Silver gave at the Associated Press Sports Editors convention this week. “It’s not a sure thing,” Silver said. “But as I’ve said before, I think it’s natural that organizations grow over time.” Silver named Las Vegas and Seattle as possibilities. A dark-horse, team and league officials say, is Mexico City, where the league has made significant investments, including an annual regular-season game and the placement of a G League franchise.
• Looking for a second-round sleeper? How about Emoni Bates, the former high school phenom who slipped to the 49th pick on draft night where the Cavs scooped him up. Bates was once a heralded prospect whose potential was compared favorably to LeBron James. But he struggled in college, first at Memphis and then at Eastern Michigan, where he dealt with off-court issues, including a weapons charge (the charge was eventually dropped).

At Summer League, Bates flashed some of that potential. On Monday, Bates scored 21 points (on 7-of-11 shooting, including 5-of-8 from three-point range) in 27 minutes. Bates, who is just 19, has some work to do defensively, and at 6'8", 180 pounds, he will need to bulk up. But the skills are there, and the Cavs have some holes on the wings. If he can find his way back to the prospect he was in high school, Cleveland may have a player.

• Chris Paul bristled a little at the idea of coming off the bench when he met with reporters this week, but most of the people I talked to see a reserve role—the first in Paul’s career—as Golden State’s only option. The Warriors aren’t benching Stephen Curry or Klay Thompson, Andrew Wiggins is too valuable as a perimeter defender and playing Draymond Green at center just isn’t sustainable. In an ideal world, Paul embraces leading the second unit, giving Golden State a valuable floor general.
• Amongst team executives, the NBA’s recently announced midseason tournament was met with a collective shrug. The tournament, which the league hopes will drum up more interest in the first half of the season, has been a top-of-agenda item for Silver for years. Will it lead to more competitive early-season games? Maybe, but I don’t get the sense that teams are going to be going all-out to win them.
• Chet Holmgren was a name everyone was talking about this week. Holmgren, who missed all of last season with a foot injury, has been impressive, capping a strong Summer League stretch with a 25-point, nine-rebound, five-block performance Wednesday. Holmgren, 13 pounds heavier than his listed weight at this time last season, has been flying around, aggressively hunting rebounds and blocks while fluidly finishing pick-and-rolls. The 7'1" Holmgren projects to be exactly what Oklahoma City needs (rim protector, second scoring option), and, if he performs in his redshirt rookie season, the Thunder are headed for the playoffs.
• The Lakers continue to be the most logical landing spot for free-agent big man Christian Wood. Top exec Rob Pelinka is believed to be a fan of Wood, who has struggled to find league-wide traction on a new deal after averaging 16.6 points over 67 games with the Mavericks last season. Wood had hoped that would be enough to earn him a sizeable contract, but concerns over his defensive limitations kept teams away. Still, L.A., which has an open roster spot and some need in the frontcourt, appears to be a good fit.