Now that superstar Damian Lillard has been asked to be traded by the Portland Trail Blazers, the Miami Heat appear to be the favorite to get him. To be in a position to add a player of his caliber to a team who came through three games of last season’s Championship would be massive, but it also comes with a lot of risk.
For example, the Heat actually lost two rookies from last season’s NBA Finals team in free agency this summer: Max Strus and Gabe Vincent. Until then, they still have Tyler Hero, who was their third-best player before they missed most of the playoffs, but they seem willing to trade him in for Lillard.
If they get to Lillard, a roster overhaul might be worth it because Miami will have as many top three players as any team. Factor in that they’ve already proven they can take down the best teams in the East without Lillard, and he could be the missing piece to propel the Heat incarnation to the championship.
The Miami Heat’s pursuit of Damian Lillard is high-risk, high-reward.
This is absolutely the best case scenario, but the worst case scenario could be very bad. Although Miami has a reputation for finding and developing players in rotation, they will be unusually light in the depth department with Lillard. After all, the deal could involve Kyle Lowry, Duncan Robinson, and possibly even Caleb Martin being traded to the Blazers, with Herro moving to another team. This means that six players in rotation from last season’s squad will not return.
Even if they couldn’t trade on his behalf, there would still be a lot of question marks surrounding their list. Before Lillard asked out of Portland, Miami was reportedly shopping Lowry, or considering waiving and extending him, to free up enough room under the luxury tax to be able to use their full mid-level exception.
That would have allowed them to use up to $12.2 million to sign a player like Christian Wood or Paul Pole. Instead, they’re in a holding pattern, waiting to see if Lillard can put enough internal pressure on the Blazers to force him into the Heat. Depending on how long that lasts, that could mean the Heat will lose Wood and Paul, possibly in addition to Lillard.
It seems unlikely that Lillard will succeed in upgrading the Heat over the Blazers since he only has four years left on his contract and, by asking the question, has given Portland the ability to trade him to whatever team is willing to offer them the most. If the Heat can’t get more assets together, it won’t appear empty-handed; They would have been even worse if they hadn’t gone after Lillard.
- Posted on 06/07/2023 at 19:00 PM
- Last updated on 07/06/2023 at 19:00 PM