Analyst says Heat's potential trade offer for Damian Lillard is ‘absolutely fair’
The bulk of the reports and rumors surrounding the Heat's pursuit of a trade for Damian Lillard have focused on the Portland Trail Blazers' pursuit of adding more than what Miami can offer. More specifically, a constant theme seems to be the fact that the Blazers do not have an interest in adding Heat guard Tyler Herro, which has only added to the mess of potential ideas to add a third or fourth team to the trade.
But during a recent episode of The Oregonian's 'Blazer Focused' podcast, team reporter Aaron J. Fentress gave a candid and brutally honest outlook on the situation from Portland's perspective. The overall message? Whether the team likes it or not, a Heat offer of Herro and three first-round picks is absolutely fair.
“If [the Blazers] end up with Tyler Herro & 3 firsts, I’m sorry Blazer fans, but that’s a legit deal ... Whether you like it or not, the Blazers played themselves ... [Dame’s] made it one team & one team only so here you are, deal with it. He's 33, he's got $216 million coming to him. If he's healthy, Miami's going to be really good, if he starts to break down, Miami's going to be screwed. So, the idea that you're going to get a [Kevin] Durant haul is just ridiculous, it shouldn't be close to that, three firsts and a good young player which is Herro is absolutely fair," Fentress stated.
Here's a look at the full clip of the comments:
It's an interesting assessment of the situation from someone who covers the Blazers' side of all this. Obviously, Portland is going to keep pushing to generate the largest possible return they can in any Lillard trade, but he is right about the outlook on any potential deal. Lillard has named just one desired destination, and that's sort of just what the team has to work with at this point.
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