Damian Lillard-to-the-Celtics trade rumors have really cooled off over the last week-plus, especially with Portland Trail
Lillard general manger Joe Cronin ready to wait months before pulling the trigger on a deal.
But a former teammate of Lillard found a way to not only fuel trade talk about the star guard again but involve the Celtics as
well.
Evan Turner played with Lillard for three seasons in Portland and also spent two-plus seasons of his career with the Celtics.
Turner was an assistant coach for Boston during the 2020-21 season as well. And Turner believes the Celtics would be a
great landing spot for Lillard.
“To be honest with you, what I think makes the most sense is I’m a big Boston Celtics fan, so I want to see him go to
Boston,” Turner told “The Schmo and the Pro” on Sunday. “Get to see him play with Jayson Tatum. Give Brad Stevens the
credit for bringing in a championship piece.”
Conveniently enough, Turner didn’t say he wanted Lillard to play alongside Tatum and Jaylen Brown. It would take quite
the trade package for the Celtics to obtain Lillard, especially with the seven-time All-Star making it clear his preferred
destination is Miami.
The Celtics, who reportedly have made progress on a supermax extension with Brown but have yet to close the deal, would
presumably have to give up Brown to acquire Lillard. There is a scenario in which the Celtics could have a star-studded
trio of Tatum, Brown and Lillard but that would include Boston departing with a truckload of assets.
Going to Boston would offer Lillard a bigger market to play in and give him a much better chance to shine in the postseason
and win an NBA title (the Trail Blazers have missed the playoffs the last two seasons). And Turner sees that as a driving
factor in why he wants to see Lillard in Celtics Green.
“One thing I really want to see for Dame is being able to display his talent,” Turner said. “… Playoff time is a big stage to
really showcase talent in the NBA and I think the past couple years of having a playoff run without Dame Lillard, we’ve really
missed out on some great games and some moments where we’re talking about his legacy and his greatness. You’ve seen him
a bunch of times go for 50s and 60s in the postseason. And I think, he has a championship-caliber mindset in him and
change locations he’ll be able to do so.”
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