"It's bad for the league" - Austin Rivers opens up on Damian Lillard's trade request and the effect it could have on the NBA
Quite a few weeks have passed since Portland Trail Blazers superstar point guard Damian Lillard requested a trade out of the team.
Lillard has made it clear that the Miami Heat are his only preferred trade destination, while the Blazers are keen to get a sizeable return for their star. Given Miami's lack of draft assets, it appears that there is no end in sight to the drama at the moment.
Recent reports have suggested that Portland is still not close to completing a Lillard deal. According to 11-year veteran guard Austin Rivers, this particular trade saga could have a very negative impact on the rest of the NBA.
During a recent podcast appearance for "The Ringer," Rivers spoke about how playing in the NBA is a privilege and that players should honor their contracts.
“Regardless of how good of a player you are, man, the NBA is a privilege,” Rivers said.
“If you are a free agent, then you can choose where you wanna go, that's the business. But when you’re not, and you sign a deal, man, that’s part of the business, bro. If you get traded somewhere, you gotta go play, man.”
Rivers then referenced Philadelphia 76ers star guard James Harden and Brooklyn Nets point forward Ben Simmons. He believes the duo started the recent trend of problematic trade requests.
“This started with James (Harden) and Ben (Simmons) and all these guys doing this s**t,” Rivers said.
“It's bad for the league.”
Rivers went on to speak about how stars requesting trades midway through their contracts hurts other players in the NBA. He said that the phenomenon is one of the main reasons why the league’s new collective bargaining agreement is too “top-heavy.”
“This is why our CBA deal that we just signed … It’s top-heavy,” Rivers said.
“That’s why you’re seeing all these teams now, you either make $50 million or $2 (million). It's the most lopsided contract teams. I mean, it’s a joke, bro. I can’t tell you how many mid-level guys are signing for vet minimum (deals) around the NBA. It’s laughable. But yeah, it’s a scary dynamic when stars start acting like this and I am not a big fan of it.”
"If you were a free agent, then you could choose where you were gonna go… This started with James [Harden] and Ben [Simmons] and all these guys doing this sh*t. It's bad for the league."
Austin Rivers on Damian Lillard's trade demand
(via ringernba/TT)
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Also read: "Why are we playing basketball?": Gary Payton is perplexed at the backslash Damian Lillard has received over trade request
Austin Rivers calls Damian Lillard one of the hardest players to guard in the NBA
Later on in his podcast appearance, Austin Rivers clarified that while he is frustrated with stars requesting trades, he has nothing against Damian Lillard.
The veteran point guard spoke about how much he admires Lillard and referenced their various battles over the years. He then called the Portland Trail Blazers superstar one of the hardest players to guard in the NBA.
“I’m a big fan of Damian,” Rivers said.
“Everyone knows. I mean, I’ve had so many battles with him. I’ve been in many playoff series against Damian, and he’s probably one of the hardest players I’ve ever had to guard in my entire life. Everyone knows the clip when I had to, like, pray to God when he missed that shot, because that’s how good he is, man. Like, you just gotta hope he misses sometimes.”
Lillard, 33, averaged a career-high 32.2 points, 4.8 rebounds, 7.3 assists, 0.9 steals and 4.2 3-pointers per game on 46.3% shooting over 58 games last season. He is under contract with the Blazers until the end of 2026 with a massive $63.2 million player option for the 2026-27 season.
Also read: “Miami doesn’t have all the assets” - Chris Haynes gives important insight on the Portland Trail Blazers’ expectations for Damian Lillard trade