The Heat plans to vigorously pursue a trade for Damian Lillard after the star point guard told the Portland Trail Blazers on Saturday that he would like to be dealt and dealt specifically to Miami.
A source confirmed that Lillard has made clear he wants to go to Miami, citing the fact that he loves the city; has great respect for Jimmy Butler and the Heat organization and is good friends with Bam Adebayo.
The Blazers had not told him on Saturday morning if they will accommodate his request to be traded to Miami, but it would be surprising if they don’t because of his iconic status and sustained excellence over 11 years with the team.
Blazers GM Joe Cronin, in a statement to ESPN, said: “We have been clear that we want Dame here but he notified us today he wants out and he’d prefer to play someplace else. What has not changed for us is that we’re committed to winning &we are going to do what’s best for the team in pursuit of that goal.”
ESPN reported that the Heat, Clippers and Philadelphia are the three teams with interest. But the source told The Miami Herald that he wants only Miami.
If acquired, Lillard would give the Heat a high-scoring, elite-playmaking seven-time All Star who would seemingly be the perfect complement to Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo.
Lillard, 32, averaged a career-high 32.2 points per game this past season, shooting 46.3 percent from the field and 37.1 percent on threes. He was third in the league in scoring and 13th in assists at 7.3 per game.
During an 11-year career (all with Portland), Lillard has averaged 25.2 points and 6.7 assists, while shooting 43.9 percent from the field and 37.2 percent from three-point range.
A member of the NBA’s 75th anniversary team (honoring the 76 best players in history), Lillard was named first team All NBA once (in 2018), second team All NBA four times (2016 and 2019-2021) and third team All NBA two times (2014 and 2023).
Appearing last month on The Last Stand podcast with Showtime’s Brian Custer, Lillard was asked who among the Knicks, Heat, Celtics and Nets would make him say, ‘that’s not too bad.’”
“Miami obviously,” Lillard said. “Miami is the obvious one. And Bam [Adebayo] is my dog. Bam is my dog for real. Miami is the obvious one. Brooklyn is another obvious one, because Mikal Bridges is my dog too.”
Lillard is due to make $45.6 million, $48.8 million and $58.5 million over the next three seasons. He has a $63.2 million player option in 2026-27.
It’s unclear if Lillard would even accept a deal anywhere but Miami. He does not have a no trade clause, but a team likely wouldn’t try to acquire a player who doesn’t want to be there. And he has made it clear to Portland that Miami is where he wants to be.
Any Heat offer for Lillard could be built around guard Tyler Herro and multiple first-round picks. There are several other players who could be included to facilitate a trade from a cap standpoint.
Among the permutations that would satisfy salary cap rules:
▪ Herro, Duncan Robinson (who is due $57 million, including $47 million guaranteed over the next three season) and two or three first-round picks for Lillard.
The combined 2023-24 salaries of Herro and Robinson - and Lillard’s salary - are essentially equal. The Heat cannot take back more than 110 percent of the money it trades out. Herro cannot be traded until July 6.
▪ A package built around Herro, Kyle Lowry (who is due to make $29.7 million in the final year of his contract), and two or three first-round picks. The Heat would need to take back additional money besides Lillard in this scenario - perhaps Nassir Little (due $6.2 million and with four years left on his contract in that salary range) and a minimum player or two.
▪ If the Blazers don’t want to take on Lowry’s or Robinson’s contracts, another package that would work financially would be Herro, Caleb Martin, Nikola Jovic, Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Haywood Highsmith, plus two or three first-round picks. Jaquez can be traded because he hasn’t signed; once he signs with Miami, he could not be traded for 30 days.
It’s possible that specific trade hypothetical could be done without Highsmith from a cap rules standpoint, but it would be close.
The Heat has two first-round picks available to trade: in 2028 and 2030. But Miami could trade its 2024 first-round pick if the Heat can convince Oklahoma City to allow Miami to change its conditional 2025 pick owed the Thunder to a 2026 unconditional pick. Perhaps that could be done by offering the Thunder a future second-round pick or something modest.
In that scenario, the Heat could trade first-rounders in 2024, 2028 and 2030. Draft picks cannot be traded more than seven years out, and teams cannot trade their own future first-round picks in two consecutive years.
Heavy.com, among other web sites, have speculated that the Blazers might try to include center Jusuf Nurkic in a trade for Lillard. If the Blazers insisted that the Heat take Nurkic’s contract (which has three years and $54 million), then additional Heat money would need to be included in the deal. In that scenario, Lowry or Robinson would need to be included, beyond Herro.
The Blazers, who have depth at guard, could opt to either keep Herro or flip him for other assets if they try to complete a Lillard team with the Heat.
According to TNT and Bleacher Report NBA reporter Chris Haynes, a potential trade between the Heat and Trail Blazers involving Lillard would almost certainly include the involvement of a third team.
The Heat has 12 players under contract after agreeing to deals to add Thomas Bryant, Kevin Love and Josh Richardson and watching Gabe Vincent and Max Strus join the Lakers and Cleveland, respectively.
This story was originally published July 01, 2023 12:01 PM.