Aaron Goodwin, Damian Lillard's agent, has gone on the record: Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard wants to be traded to the Miami Heat and nowhere else, and Goodwin has told other prospective suitors as much.
"I do what I should for my client," Goodwin told the Miami Herald's Barry Jackson. "Some teams I did call. Other teams have called me. It's a respectful relationship with most teams. Truthfully, he wants to play in Miami. Period."
This confirms recent reporting on the subject, including Thursday morning's story from ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.
Despite Lillard's preferences, the Blazers plan to trade him to the team that presents them with the best offer. Maybe that's the Heat; maybe it's some other team. By letting the world know that Lillard won't be happy anywhere else, Goodwin is trying to discourage other teams from beating Miami's offer.
Goodwin's statement is only surprising in so far as it was made publicly. On page 123 of the NBA's new collective bargaining agreement, the section on public trade requests reads:
Any player (or, for clarity, any player representative or person acting with authority on behalf of a player) who publicly expresses a desire to be traded to another Team shall be subject to a fine and/or a suspension. The maximum fine that may be imposed by the NBA on a player pursuant to the foregoing shall be $150,000.
In January 2019, Anthony Davis was fined $50,000 because his agent, Rich Paul, had publicly requested a trade.
