Damian Lillard is no longer a member of the Portland Trail Blazers, with the superstar guard traded to the Milwaukee Bucks in a blockbuster move on Thursday.
But the ramifications of that deal are still yet to be fully felt, with new Portland acquisition Jrue Holiday expected to be dealt immediately as the Blazers look towards the future.
That is according to ESPN insider Adrian Wojnarowski, who said on Friday morning that the Celtics, 76ers and Clippers are “among” the teams expected to show interest in Holiday.
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“This deal’s ripple effects are still yet to be fully felt because Portland’s next task is to find a team to trade Jrue Holiday [to] and there are no shortage of contenders in the league who would love to make a deal with the Blazers for Jrue Holiday,” Wojnarowski said on ESPN’s ‘Get Up’.
“Among them the Celtics and 76ers in the East and the Clippers in the West. But any team who is trying to win and trying to really keep up with this arms race in the East with Milwaukee attracting Damian Lillard in this deal, they want in on Jrue Holiday and certainly for Portland you can judge the total value of what they got in this deal by ultimately what they next come out of [with] once they move Jrue Holiday and I think they’re going to move pretty quickly on this one.”
Wojnarowski later reported on ‘NBA Today’ that the Blazers are expected to receive multiple picks and potentially a young player on a rookie contract in return for Holiday.
Portland already has a host of developing talent on its books to build around, headlined by third overall pick Scoot Henderson.
Miami was initially reported to be the frontrunner in a trade for Lillard but it was always going to be a challenge for the Heat to come up with the right kind of package to appeal to Portland.
That was consistent with reporting from Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report on Friday, who claimed Lillard told Blazers general manager Joe Cronin he would prefer to return to the franchise if a deal with the Heat was not possible.
“Cronin’s response to the seven-time All-Star was that there was no coming back,” Haynes wrote.
“Lillard was shocked, sources said. He said it was discouraging to hear he couldn’t return, but added that he didn’t want to be somewhere he wasn’t wanted, and he ended the meeting.
“Lillard was still hopeful a deal with the Heat was within reach. However, he had to face the realisation that he might not be moved.”
In the end, Lillard was traded to Milwaukee and will now team up with Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo.
According to Wojnarowski, Antetokounmpo played no direct role in the move for Lillard.
Of course, the two-time MVP would have indirectly influenced Milwaukee’s trade for Lillard given his comments this summer.
In case you missed it, Antetokounmpo on two occasions made it clear he would not sign a contract extension until he knows the organisation is in a position to compete for a title.
Trading for Lillard is just the kind of message the Bucks needed to send in return.
As for Antetokounmpo having no direct role though, Wojnarowski said that more had to do with the Bucks superstar not feeling responsible for Holiday’s exit.
“The relationship there, the reverence that this organisation and these players have for Holiday, he did not want to put that to Giannis Antetokounmpo and have him have that on his conscience to sign off on it, or not sign off on it,” Wojnarowski said.
KNICKS PLAYER FEELS LIKE HE IS BEING ‘HELD HOSTAGE’
As training camp nears, Evan Fournier’s tone has somewhat shifted.
The veteran guard went from expecting a change of address to merely hoping for one, even suggesting he felt like was being “held hostage,” Fournier said in an interview with French radio station RTL.
“I’m still in New York at the moment,” Fournier said.
“I want to leave. But beyond leaving, I want to have the opportunity to get some playing time back. That’s all. That’s mostly it. Because in New York, I feel extremely good. I love living there, I love the franchise, I love playing at Madison [Square Garden], I love the guys on the team.
“So I just want to play, that’s all. It’s true that finding another club, changing franchises, if that’s what you have to do to play again, that’s what I would like to do.”
Fournier was out of the Knicks’ rotation by late last November after beginning the year as a starter and only played meaningful minutes due to injury from that point on.
He was a good soldier until the season wrapped up.
After the Knicks were eliminated by the Heat in the second round of the playoffs, Fournier told reporters he expected to be gone and detailed the frustrating season in which he became an expensive cheerleader.
But the Knicks have yet to move him, mostly because his expiring $18.9 million contract is a valuable trade chip to match contracts if the right deal comes along.
That hasn’t happened yet.
Media day is Monday followed by the start of camp and Fournier remains a Knick.
“If I knew, for example, that the coach was going to give me 10-15 minutes here and there, I know that I could make the most of it and grab minutes gradually and perform well,” the 30-year-old Fournier said.
“But that’s not even the case. I don’t have the opportunity to play and even worse, I feel like I’m being held hostage. I hope this situation will resolve itself and I especially hope that the Knicks will give me a chance.”
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