16 September 2023 , 22:33
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Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard has made his feelings clear about wanting a trade to the Miami Heat and posted an Instagram story about the team before deleting it.
Lillard reposted a story that contained a picture of the NBA player with the caption: "Future Heat legend @damianlillard soon." It was later deleted as Lillard remains a member of the Portland Trail Blazers, but it reminded fans of his intentions to move to Florida.
The 33-year-old has been with the Trail Blazers his entire career after being drafted sixth overall back in 2012 but requested a trade in July after they missed the playoffs in 2022-23. Lillard specifically wants to play for the Heat, but a formal deal is yet to be completed.
Lillard has said he loves the Trail Blazers franchise and wants to be loyal to the team, although he still wishes to move teams ahead of next season. But his deleted Instagram story is a sign of what could be to come as the season nears.
"I'm not going to speak on the Blazers," Lillard said back in August. "It's a lot of love and respect, but I won't speak on the Blazers. ... I can say that there was [a trade request to the Heat], and I would just prefer not to speak on the Trail Blazers.
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"If you look at the history of me speaking about loyalty, I've always said that I'm loyal to who I am and I'm going to do what I feel like is the right thing to do. For me, I know what I want for myself and I'm going to be loyal to that.
"When I feel like this is the vision I have for myself, this is what I see being fit for me at this moment, I'm going to ride that until the wheels fall off but anything that I'm a part of, it all has to be connected." Lillard has to be careful, as the NBA is strict on players trying to force trades.
Lillard deleted a post from his Instagram story hinting about the Heat (DamianLillard / Instagram)
Lillard wants to be respectful to the Trail Blazers but still wants to leaveThe league has disciplined players in the past for abusing the system, and Lillard's direct admission that he wants to play for the Heat puts him at risk of violating NBA policy. Earlier this year commissioner Adam Silver spoke out about his dislike for players using their power to trade, as he said: "I think that’s a bad thing.
"I think it’s corrosive to the system. Certainly, fans don’t like it. Even lots of players don’t like it as well because, ultimately, they may be [signing with] a particular team under a belief that that player is still going to be there.
"So strongly against anything said publicly. I agree that a certain amount of player movement is good, but I think it has to be done in partnership and honoring those agreements that players and teams enter into."