Part of the problem with trying to trade for a superstar is having enough left over that the team can still contend, or at the very least, makes for a roster the star would want to join.

Portland’s Damian Lillard alluded to just that when discussing potential landing spots.

That’s why it was a solid sign that when Lillard was asked recently on “The Last Stand” podcast, he not only mentioned the Nets as “an obvious” choice, but added that they have a “capable” roster.

And now comes a report that suggests any potential deal with Brooklyn may be able to be done without having to include Mikal Bridges, or even Nic Claxton.

Sources told The Post that Brooklyn has “genuine interest” in Lillard. With an All-NBA star of his caliber, the questions have never been about the production, but the price.

According to The Athletic, a trade between the Nets and Trail Blazers would likely be built around Spencer Dinwiddie, Joe Harris, and obviously draft picks.

Brooklyn has the fourth-most draft capital from now through 2029, including 11 first-round picks. They have back-to-back picks in the June 22 NBA Draft at Barclays Center, Nos. 21 and 22. They also have the 51st selection. Portland has the No. 3 pick to either trade for a veteran to placate Lillard, or use in conjunction with a Lillard trade in order to turbocharge a full-on rebuild.

Dinwiddie drew interest at the trade deadline as soon as the Nets acquired him, but they decided against re-routing him at the time. He’s almost a given to be moved should they pursue a Lillard deal, from both a salary and positional perspective. Dinwiddie is also an expiring contract and eligible for a four-year, $128 million extension starting Aug. 7, one he is highly unlikely to receive.

Harris is the longest-tenured current Net, but has seen ankle injuries devastate his production.

While any Portland ask for Bridges is a non-starter, it was presumed that Claxton, 23, would be the next name on their wish-list. The emerging young center is coming off a career year and was fifth in the Most Improved Player balloting, right behind Bridges. Being able to keep both in any deal would be game-changing.

For his part, Lillard has said he expects to be in Portland come Opening Night. But Chris Haynes of Yahoo! Sports told Dan Patrick Thursday that he expects any trade speculation would be limited to the Nets and Heat (in that order), and that Portland would try to accommodate Lillard’s preferred destination due to his years of loyal service.

“If it gets to that point, they would consult with Dame because, you know, Dame’s been there 10 years, been a model citizen representing that city, in that organization, with class, all throughout,” Haynes said. “I think they will try to get him where he wants to go; in the East, that is, I do not see and envision a possibility that he would be traded to a Western Conference team.”

That could also include the Heat, another team Lillard labeled as an “obvious” landing spot with a “capable” roster. He’s been linked with Philadelphia, although Haynes doubted the 76ers had enough assets to land the star point guard and dismissed the Boston Celtics as a viable suitor.

The superstar is going to command attention right up through the draft later this month, and — if he’s still in Portland — even beyond, until his status is cleared up.

Regarding that aforementioned NBA Draft, the Nets typically work out 60 to 70 players beforehand. And even though GM Sean Marks relishes in keeping said workouts top secret, they’ve clearly been busy again this year.

Brooklyn has had solid returns with second-round picks, either selections they made themselves, like Claxton, or second-rounders taken by other teams and eventually let go, like both Dinwiddie and Harris.

The Nets have held workouts over the past few weeks for a host of players projected to go in the second round (or go undrafted altogether), arguably none with the interest and intrigue of teenager Emoni Bates.

“Emoni, he’s an enigma,” ESPN draft analyst Fran Fraschilla told The Post. “Because he’s got basketball skill and the length. He’s not as strong, he’s not physically strong yet.

“I saw him as a freshman at Memphis and the worst thing that could’ve happened to him was when he got overhyped. So now everybody compares him to what he was supposed to be, and not what he could be.

The Gatorade National Boys Basketball Player of the Year in 2020 and former Sports Illustrated cover subject, Bates has been likened to Kevin Durant for his skinny frame and multi-level scoring. But at 33 pounds lighter and nearly a half-foot shorter wingspan than Durant in college, those Durant comparisons were counterproductive.

“He’s a long-term, two-to-three-year project for a team who’s willing to wait on a kid that’s 6-9 with perimeter skills,” Fraschilla said. “That’s going to be the key. And there’s so much background you’d have to do on him to make sure he’s the kind of kid you’re going to take in the first round and he’s going to work.

“I hear he’s a good kid, but for a team like the Nets, this is the ultimate detective work. Everything he’s done in the last three years is going to be scrutinized, so if you take him you may end up getting (a breakout player) in three or four years.”

The lanky forward not only showed well at last month’s NBA Draft Combine — finishing second in both the shooting-off-the-dribble and 3-point star drills — but has been active working out for teams to change perceptions of his checkered career.

Bates was once the nation’s top-ranked recruit, but now sits ranked around 50th in this draft class — right in the Nets’ second-round wheelhouse. And he came in for a workout at HSS Training Center looking to impress Marks & Co.

“With Emoni, this is a real hit-or-miss situation,” said Fraschilla, who saw Bates three times this year. “This is like swinging for the fences; but you’re not really swinging for the fences if you do your homework…that’s something you can’t glean from watching him on tape against Toledo and Ohio U and Akron.

“That’s what you have to figure out with this kid, because you’re taking a real risk. He’s had moments of brilliance and then he’s had moments where he’s disappeared. He got all the hype early; it didn’t pan out at Memphis. But you’re looking at a kid that if you do your homework and you can figure out that he’s got the will to be a good player, you might be getting a steal.”

Bates disappointed as a freshman at Memphis and transferred to Eastern Michigan, where he was arrested in September on felony charges of carrying a concealed weapon and altering identification marks on a firearm. He reached a plea agreement (to a misdemeanor) and was reinstated, averaging 19.2 points on 33 percent from 3.

Durant and Kyrie Irving actually spoke with Bates to encourage him after the Nets’ Dec. 18 win at Detroit. But both are long gone from Brooklyn, and Bates represents a level of risk, especially considering the fervor Ja Morant caused by flashing a gun in a social media video. And Bates, gifted though he may be, is no Morant.

“The hardest thing is going to your owner to say, ‘Hey, this kid had a major injury or this kid has a major character flaw,’” Fraschilla said, “because you’re going pay the kid like $12 million over four years or whatever.

“You’ve got a chance to get fired if it doesn’t work out because if there’s baggage, you’ve got to go to your owner and say … this is a good risk.”

“That’s where the detective work [is important]. And when I said detective work, I wasn’t even thinking about the gun; I’m thinking about the scouts doing their background and calling Stan Heath, his college coach. But the bottom line is, there’s a high degree of risk and some reward there. And sometimes it’s just not worth it.”

Corey Vinson, who worked with Bridges as a development coach in Phoenix, has joined the Nets as an assistant coach for player development.

“I’m happy to share that I’m starting a new position as Assistant Coach/Player Development at Brooklyn Nets!” Vinson wrote last week on his LinkedIn account.

Vinson joins Ronnie Burrell, Adam Caporn, Ryan Forehan-Kelly, Trevor Hendry, Jay Hernandez and Kevin Ollie as assistants under Jacque Vaughn.