Free agent guard Austin Rivers slammed the trend of superstars around the league forcing a trade out of their current teams during a recent podcast appearance for The Ringer.
"If you were a free agent, then you could choose where you were gonna go… This started with James [Harden] and Ben [Simmons] and all these guys doing this sh*t. It's bad for the league."
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) July 24, 2023
Austin Rivers on Damian Lillard's trade demand
(via ringernba/TT)pic.twitter.com/IsBfRAlace
The 30-year-old mentioned that playing in the NBA is a privilege regardless of how good or talented a player is.
"If you're a free agent, you can choose where you were gonna go; that's the business. But when you're not and you sign a deal, that's part of the business," Rivers said.
The 6-foot-4 believes that Ben Simmons and James Harden started this particular trend, which is bad for the league. It could also be a scary dynamic if players continue to act this way moving forward.
Simmons held out playing for the Philadelphia 76ers in the 2021-22 NBA season until his trade request was granted, while Harden has done the same ploy three times in his career, including this offseason.
Read more: Nikola Jokic Joins Long List of Superstars Skipping FIBA World Cup
Lillard, the latest to request out
Damian Lillard is the latest superstar to request a trade, reiterating to his current team Portland Trail Blazers that he only wants to play for the Miami Heat.
However, the two teams are still unable to come up with an agreement for a trade, and the 2023 NBA Finals runners-up are growing frustrated with the slow progress of the proposed deal.
Lillard's contract with Portland runs until the end of the 2026-27 NBA season, with him being the first player in history to break the $60 million barrier for a single-season salary in the final year of the deal.
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