In a league-wide memorandum sent to all 30 teams, the NBA warned Damian Lillard and agent Aaron Goodwill that a corresponding disciplinary action could be imposed should the All-Star not commit to playing for a team that lands him via trade, per Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report.
The league also has noted to the player’s union that any statement by players or their agents about refusing to perform for other teams upon being traded may result in penalties.
As the memo states, Goodwin denied the statement he aired about Lillard’s trade demand. As such, league investigation has shown that this denial contradicts what teams have heard from the agent of the star point man when the negotiations were taking place.
With this, Goodwin and Lillard have affirmed to the league that the future Hall of Famer will fulfill his play obligations under his player contract for any trade scenarios.
It was notable that Goodwin declared that Lillard only desires to play for the Miami Heat, and any other teams who would dare to acquire him will obtain an “unhappy player.”
So far, the needle hasn’t moved yet on the Lillard trade front as Miami are even reportedly grown frustrated with the lack of progress with their talks around the Portland Trail Blazers.
Blazers GM Joe Cronin made it clear that they won’t rush the trade process of Lillard as they continue to canvass the market for the best assets they can seize from the franchise star.
Lillard, 33, still has four more years left on his current contract with the 2026-27 season being a player option.
He is coming off a career year averaging a career-best 33.2 points to go with 7.3 assists, 4.8 boards, and 46.3 percent shooting for 56 games last 2022-23 regular season.
