Celtics Star Is Reportedly Trying To Recruit Damian Lillard

The Boston Celtics already made the biggest splash in the NBA offseason when they traded for Kristaps Porzingis, but Brad Stevens might still have another move up his sleeve.

The Celtics had to let Marcus Smart go to acquire Porzingis, and there are reportedly some serious health concerns regarding Malcolm Brogdon — which is why he couldn’t be traded instead of Smart in the first place.

That leaves the perennial NBA championship contenders without a proven starting point guard ahead of the upcoming season, which is why Jayson Tatum is taking matters into his own hands by recruiting Damian Lillard to join him at the TD Garden, according to a report by Andscape (via Legion Hoops).

REPORT: Jayson Tatum is trying to recruit Damian Lillard to Celtics, per @andscape ? pic.twitter.com/bLnKiH5He7

— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) July 4, 2023

The Celtics are one of the few teams with enough assets to pull off a deal to land Lillard, but they would have to do some serious salary-dumping to accommodate their books.

Needless to say, the chances of them keeping both Tatum and Jaylen Brown while also landing Lillard would be quite slim.

Brown is eligible to sign a supermax contract extension worth almost $300 million, and Lillard is one of the highest-earning guys in the league right now, so any potential move would likely involve a sign-and-trade to send Brown to the Blazers — or somewhere else.

Even so, Lillard has reportedly made it clear to the Portland Trail Blazers that he only wants to be traded to the Miami Heat, and while he doesn’t have a no-trade clause in his contract, they could be forced to fulfill his wishes.

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Marcus Smart Clears The Air About His Relationship With Jaylen Brown