Virtually all signs point to disgruntled All-Star Damian Lillard forcing his way to the Miami Heat. Yet, ESPN insider Adrian Wojnarowski continues to hedge, leaving open the possibility that a dark horse team could emerge, thwarting Miami’s rumored pursuit of Lillard.
The Heat, Clippers and 76ers are three teams that will have interest in exploring trades for Lillard, sources tell ESPN. The Blazers are expected to value deals that would bring them back young players and draft assets. https://t.co/5KM6EF4RRT
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 1, 2023
Front offices talking to Portland today were left with impression that GM Joe Cronin is pursuing a star-level return package for Damian Lillard – and that Cronin plans to look well beyond the Miami Heat to find one. https://t.co/9NWtJN9JLm
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 1, 2023
In this scenario, what does Wojnarowski gain by delaying the inevitable, insulting our collective intelligence by pushing a narrative that no one, not even himself, believes? Amin Elhassan of The Dan Le Batard Show has a theory, implying Woj is doing Portland a solid, carrying water for the Trail Blazers in hopes of leveraging a better offer from Miami.
https://twitter.com/LeBatardShow/status/1676958506577170434
“Adrian knew. He knows what the deal is,” said Elhassan, suggesting Lillard to the Heat is a “done” deal, just waiting on a few dotted I’s and crossed T’s. “What he is engaging in is protecting one of his closest sources by giving them cover by saying there’s no way he’s going to go to Miami and coming up with ridiculous premises like San Antonio could be a dark horse. It’s all poppycock.”
Le Batard conveyed a similar message, suggesting ESPN is hoping to drag the Lillard saga out as long as possible, doing everything in its power to keep the content machine running amid a quiet period on the sports calendar.
“[The Heat] know they’ve got Lillard,” said Le Batard. “When no one’s talking about things that are going on in sports, hot-dog eating contests and baseball, Lillard will fill your timeline. Who’s a bigger star right now that might be on the move anywhere in sports? The transaction feeds so much of this that it now eats up so much TV content with people talking about how Boston and Philadelphia can get in the game.”
Exasperated by ESPN’s misleading coverage, Miami Herald reporter Barry Jackson is also tired of entertaining the network’s charade, stretching credibility by keeping alive a story that most would acknowledge as a foregone conclusion.
Don't have it in me to listen to ESPN debate every day why Lillard should be pushing for Boston/Philly instead of Heat & this whole "respect" for Spurs thing. ESPN seems to keep alive other non Miami options partly to justify debating this on its hours and hours of panel shows.
— Barry Jackson (@flasportsbuzz) July 5, 2023
As we’ve seen with Shams Charania’s recent FanDuel controversy and Wojnarowski’s comparatively favorable coverage of Ime Udoka (with whom he shares an agent) throughout his cheating scandal last year, conflicts of interest are a dime a dozen in the insider business. That requires a certain level of skepticism, using a discerning eye to determine what’s real and what’s not in a convoluted industry where relationships matter more than anything.
[The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz]
