Why Stephen A. Smith Doesn’t Want Damian Lillard On Celtics
The Damian Lillard market is open, and the All-NBA guard reportedly has one destination in mind.
Lillard reportedly sent in a trade request to the Portland Trail Blazers last Saturday, and his preferred team is the Miami Heat. However, the Los Angeles Clippers and Philadelphia 76ers are expected to be top suitors.
The Boston Celtics reportedly called Portland to see what the value on Lillard is, and the expectation is the Trail Blazers aren’t rushing a deal out — it also can be assumed Miami doesn’t have the most attractive trade package since a deal wasn’t fast-tracked between both sides.
Chris “Mad Dog” Russo echoed what his ESPN colleague Kendrick Perkins and notorious Celtics fan Bill Simmons have voiced in the past week: Lillard should be traded to Boston. However, Stephen A. Smith pushed back on that idea.
“When you take into account Boston and what you’re talking about here, this is hypocrisy of Mad Dog Russo,” Smith said on “First Take” on Wednesday. “Excuse me, you’re a person that’s lamented high-powered offenses and stuff like that. That’s not all it takes to win championships. This is something you’ve talked about. You look at Jaylen Brown. Obviously, at 6-foot-6, 6-foot-7, he’s far more formidable defensively than Damian Lillard. Offensively, the Boston Celtics haven’t had too many issues anyway with (Jayson) Tatum, with Brown, with (Al) Horford, with Robert Williams, with Derrick White, with (Malcolm) Brogdon, with Marcus Smart, at the time. They were still a big-time offense in the National Basketball Association.
“In Miami, Damian Lillard is a missing piece. There’s no missing piece in Boston”
Stephen A. Smith on Lillard’s fit in Miami over Boston
“Now, they would be inconsistent at times, and we get all of that. And that would be the same issue with Damian Lillard to some degree. … I’m looking at (Erik) Spoelstra. You’ve lamented (Joe) Mazzulla. … I said culture, and I said coaching. We can’t ignore that either and the personnel and how it fits together. I’m very surprised at you considering how much you lean on the ’50s, ’60s and ’70s. I’m very surprised you’re focused on the value of individuality as opposed to chemistry. That’s something you would have to figure out. In Miami, Damian Lillard is a missing piece. There’s no missing piece in Boston.”
The Celtics certainly would get a downgrade defensively from Brown to Lillard, and Boston would disrupt the timeline of Brown and Tatum as a duo if it blew it up for a short-term championship goal. It’s why it’s not a simple choice to trade Brown to Portland for Lillard, who turns 33 on July 15.
It’s unlikely the Trail Blazers take any offer from Boston that doesn’t include Brown, so the Celtics probably aren’t realistic options for Lillard, who has expressed a desire to not play in Bean Town.
But he would be an upgrade wherever he goes, so Boston will have to deal with how to stop Lillard as opposed to figuring out his fit with it.
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