Insider reveals Joel Embiid's 76ers were engaged with Blazers for Damian Lillard at 'different points' this offseason

The Damian Lillard saga is heating up with less than two weeks before the start of training camp.

The Portland Trail Blazers have reportedly begun talking to teams other than the Miami Heat despite Lillard's preference to move to South Beach. An NBA insider added fuel to the fire by revealing that Joel Embiid's Philadelphia 76ers have been speaking with the Blazers front office.

According to Sixers insider Kyle Neubeck, the Sixers have discussed Lillard with the Blazers at "different points" in the offseason. Neubeck also clarified on the 'PHLY Sixers Podcast" that the Sixers might not have the package to acquire the Blazers superstar:

"There was some smoke out there today regarding Dame to the Sixers," Neubeck said. "And that maybe the Sixers' involvement in this process has been underplayed. I wouldn't go quite that far yet. Here's what I can tell you that I know for sure that the Sixers have certainly talked to the Blazers about Dame at different points throughout this offseason.

"Talking to someone and saying, 'Hey, we would like Dame Lillard on our basketball team' is not 'We're putting together a credible trade package for Dame Lillard.'" [H/T HoopsHype]

The Philadelphia 76ers do not have the most enticing assets to pull off a Damian Lillard trade.

They also have their own trade dilemma with James Harden, who requested a trade this offseason. They might need to unload Harden first before getting at least a chance to acquire Lillard.

Meanwhile, several teams have recently been linked with the 33-year-old superstar guard. The Chicago Bulls and Toronto Raptors have reportedly shown interest in Lillard, as per Jake Fischer of Yahoo! Sports.

The Phoenix Suns and Utah Jazz were mentioned as potential partners to facilitate the trade. The Suns are reportedly looking to unload DeAndre Atyon and are interested in Jusur Nurkic. The Jazz could be the potential landing spot for Tyler Herro.

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Damian Lillard would love to retire in Portland

On the "It Is What It Is" podcast recently, Damian Lillard discussed his current scenario with the Portland Trail Blazers. Lillard remains in love with the city of Portland and would have loved to retire as a Blazer, in a perfect world:

"In a perfect world, I could spend my entire career in Portland," Lillard said.

Damian Lillard has been with the Blazers for 11 seasons and has preached loyalty for the most part.

However, Portland's front office failed to surround him with a contending team for his 12th year. The Miami Heat are still the favorites to land him, but it will be interesting to see if another team swoops in and steals the deal.

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