Day: June 27, 2023

Damian Lillard and the Portland Trail Blazers had a meeting to discuss their future on Monday and he came away with the meeting remaining patient to see what moves they make during the free agency period.

“This was the meeting a lot of the league was watching to see if Damian Lillard requested a trade,” said Brian Windhorst on Get Up Tuesday morning. “And he absolutely did not. From what I understand, the tenor of the meeting was that he doesn’t want to pressure on the Blazers. He wants to see what they do in free agency. He’s going to give them that time do that. This is an interesting strategy move.

“He said at the end of the season ‘Get me veterans.’

“The draft came and went and no veterans. He’s still not pressing from what I’ve been told. He’s still going to give the Blazers every opportunity to work through this free agency process this week whether it’s through trades or signing players.

“I will tell you that this is going to potentially cause some teams that were going to make offers for him to have move on with business. They were waiting to see whether Dame Lillard was going to be on the market before they started to make moves this week. Now, some teams are going to have to make a decision either go forward or wait around. Lillard is going to wait around.

“It’s certainly a move. I guess not surprising considering the way Dame has operated with the Blazers now for years. It did take some people in the league by surprise that he didn’t go forward with what everyone was expected him to do.”

The Dallas Mavericks pursued a trade of Clint Capela from the Atlanta Hawks leading up to the draft, sources tell Marc Stein of Substack.

The Hawks either wanted to send John Collins instead of Capela, or receive Josh Green back from the Mavericks in order to send out Collins. Capela is signed through the 24-25 season and is represented by Darren Matsubara and Jason Ranne of Wasserman.

The Mavericks objected to both asks from the Hawks, who traded Collins to the Utah Jazz on Monday.

The Mavericks also discussed a trade for Deandre Ayton with the Phoenix Suns.

The Phoenix Suns and Dallas Mavericks engaged in advanced discussions on a trade of Deandre Ayton during the draft before talks stalled, sources tell Marc Stein of Substack.

The trade would have sent Ayton to Dallas for Tim Hardaway Jr., Richaun Holmes and JaVale McGee, but the Suns objected to the inclusion of McGee. Even though the Suns wouldn’t have acquired any future first round picks, they liked turning Ayton into two rotation players in Hardaway and Holmes.

Sources tell Stein that the talks could be resumed.

For now, the Suns reportedly are moving forward with Ayton on their roster. Ayton is represented by Bill Duffy, who also is the agent for Luka Doncic.

Beyond re-signing Kyrie Irving, the Mavericks have prioritized an upgrade at center this offseason. They previously engaged with the Atlanta Hawks on a trade for Clint Capela. Atlanta insisted on the Mavericks accepting John Collins instead, or adding Josh Green to the deal to include Capela. The Hawks moved on to a trade of Collins to the Utah Jazz on Monday.