Pelicans executive David Griffin thanks Celtics for helping out during the Anthony Davis trade to the LA Lakers - "It gave us leverage"
Most would agree that the Portland Trail Blazers are facing an ultimatum this offseason concerning Damian Lillard’s trade request. Many Trail Blazers fans would prefer to see the organization do right by the superstar point guard and send him somewhere he wants to go.
However, Lillard has made it known that the Miami Heat are his only preferred trade destination, which has severely limited Portland’s negotiating leverage. Trade talks between the Heat and Trail Blazers now appear as though they could drag on for months.
However, according to New Orleans Pelicans executive vice president of basketball operations David Griffin, there is still a way for Portland's situation to improve.
During a recent interview on Sirius XM NBA Radio, Griffin spoke about the value of trade rumors when trying to trade a superstar player. Griffin said that if he was Trail Blazers general manager Joe Cronin, he would want there to be as much noise as possible surrounding Lillard.
This is because increased rumors would improve Portland’s leverage, even if they aren’t true:
“The best thing that can happen to you when you’re in Joe Cronin’s situation, and I know because I lived this, is for the noise to be as loud as possible,” Griffin said.
“I want people to make up as many things as possible. I want people to invent as many different scenarios as they can and put them out into the universe because it gives you leverage. If there is actually a chance that you would trade him somewhere other than Miami, you get a much better deal.”
Griffin later referenced New Orleans' 2019 blockbuster offseason trade that sent former Pelicans superstar big man Anthony Davis to the LA Lakers. Griffin said that New Orleans was able to get back a massive return for Davis due to all of the rumors surrounding the star big man.
This return included star forward Brandon Ingram and multiple future draft picks. Griffin then mentioned the Boston Celtics as a team that significantly increased the Pelicans' leverage:
“We were blessed that the deal we made with LA, in large part, was fueled by all of the noise around other teams,” Griffin said.
“Boston is one of them that was out there as a potential landing spot and it gave us leverage that we probably didn’t deserve.”
David Griffin added that the Blazers will now have to find another legitimate trade suitor for Lillard in order to increase their leverage:
“And I think in this situation, they’re gonna need to create a landing spot that’s not just Miami because it could be difficult to make that happen".
"The deal we made with L.A. was fueled by all of the noise around other teams…it gave us leverage that we probably didn’t deserve”
David Griffin compares the Damian Lillard situation to the Anthony Davis trade to LA with @TermineRadio & @DarthAmin at NBA Summer League https://t.co/NyjVBLmmut
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David Griffin jokes that all the other 29 teams in the league would like to have Damian Lillard
As for what team could emerge as a legitimate trade suitor for Damian Lillard, that remains to be seen. However, according to David Griffin, there should be no shortage of options for the Blazers star if he reconsiders his options.
Later in his interview with Sirius XM NBA Radio, Griffin was asked about the Philadelphia 76ers’ and New Orleans Pelicans’ reported interest in acquiring Lillard. Griffin then joked that all 29 teams outside of Portland would like to add the Blazers star to their rosters:
“This just in, 29 teams would like to have Damian Lillard".
Lillard, 32, 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 this past season.