Austin Rivers Calls Out Damian Lillard Over Attempting To Force Trade To Miami Heat

Damian Lillard is still a member of the Portland Trail Blazers.

At least, for now.

The superstar point guard is now a month removed from requesting a trade from the only NBA franchise he’s ever played for.

Portland has, of yet, not been able to find a suitable trade for Lillard. Much of that fault lies at the feet of the seven-time All-Star. Lillard not only requested he specifically be traded to the Miami Heat, but he’s also reportedly attempted to dictate the exact terms of the trade.

This move backed the Blazers into a corner. But Portland general manager Joe Cronin insists he’ll only make a move that makes sense for his franchise.

Lillard has two years remaining on the max contact he agreed to prior to the 2021-22 NBA season. And thus we’ve reached an impasse. One that fellow NBA player Austin Rivers says is down to Lillard.

“Regardless of how good a player you are, man, the NBA is not…it’s a privilege. And if you were a free agent then you could choose where you were gonna go. That’s the business,” he said recently on the Off Guard with Austin Rivers podcast. “But when you’re not, and you sign a deal, man, that’s part of the business. If you get traded somewhere, you gotta go play. You know what I mean?

“And this started with James (Harden) and Ben (Simmons) and all these guys doing this s**. It’s bad for the league. This is why our CBA deal that we just signed, and I don’t even wanna get heavy into that, that thing is, don’t even get me f****** started on that deal that we got going. Because it’s top heavy. That’s why you’re seeing all these teams right now…you’re either making $50 million or two…It’s a scary dynamic when stars start acting like this, and I’m not a big fan of it.”

Rivers received responses all across the spectrum.

One way or another, it seems like the rubber is about to hit the road.