Here are the odds that the Celtics will trade for Damian Lillard

Now that talks between the Portland Trailblazers and the Miami Heat are beginning to stall, more teams are making trade offers to the Trailblazers in hopes of acquiring seven-time all-star Damian Lillard. And according to at least one betting site, the Boston Celtics have a good chance at striking a deal.

The gambling website BetOnline released their updated odds of which team will employ Damian Lillard next season, excluding the Trailblazers and the Heat. The site gave the Celtics +600 odds to land the guard, which is fourth place among all 28 of the NBA teams considered for this bet behind Brooklyn (+500), Philadelphia (+325) and Toronto (+125).

Lillard has a strong reputation as one of basketball’s most gifted scorers. In the 58 games he played last season, he averaged a career-high 32.2 points per game on 46 percent shooting from the field and 37 percent from behind the three-point line. It was one of the best seasons of his career that even contained his signature performance, a 71-point onslaught against the Houston Rockets in February.

The Celtics have shown interest in making a deal for Lillard in the past. A few days after Lillard requested a trade out of Portland, Bleacher Report’s Chris Haynes reported that Boston was one of several teams that asked the Trailblazers about a possible deal. The players were on board too, as superstar forward Jayson Tatumattempted to recruit Lillard to the Celtics.

Lillard did not share those same enthusiasm about shipping up to Boston. The Athletic’s Shams Charania told ESPN’s Pat McAfee in July that Lillard had no interest in joining the Celtics. The Boston Globe’s Adam Himmelsbach reported at around the same time that the Celtics were not pursuing Lillard. 

At that point, Lillard and his camp made it very clear that the Heat were the only team he wished to play for, which could be why the Celtics bowed out of trade talks. But now that Portland has stopped taking Miami’s calls, at least for now, Lillard may be forced to play elsewhere, potentially even in Boston.

If the Heat are no longer an option, the Celtics will have to compete with division rival Toronto, who some around the league believe is the frontrunner to win Lillard’s services, among several other teams. But as difficult as it may be to outbid those clubs, the idea of Lillard wearing green next season does not appear to be impossible.