Heat get reality check in Damian Lillard trade pursuit

Damian Lillard. Rob Gray-USA TODAY Sports

Heat get frustrating reality check in Damian Lillard trade pursuit

By Vinny Somma | Last updated 8/19/23

The Portland Trail Blazers could not care less that Damian Lillard prefers a trade to the Miami Heat. Or at least that's the word out of South Beach, as Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald has reported that the Blazers are "still showing no interest in doing a deal with the Heat."

Meanwhile, as of early this week, Portland was still showing no interest in doing a deal with Heat, who visit Blazers in late Feb. in what is reportedly Portland's only national TV game. To me, Lillard has much of leverage based on how messy he's willing to make this (unknown) https://t.co/y3cxhIbI2A
— Barry Jackson (@flasportsbuzz) August 17, 2023

Lillard requested a trade from Portland on July 1, with his sights set on joining the Heat. However, trade talks between the two clubs have remained stagnant due to Miami's lack of trade chips.

With Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo almost certainly off limits, former Sixth Man of the Year Tyler Herro is Miami's prized tradable asset. Yet, Portland's crop of young guards has left the Blazers uninterested in taking on Herro's $120M contract.

Portland hasn’t been impressed with Miami’s trade offers, per @wojespn

The Blazers have no interest in Tyler Herro pic.twitter.com/keKaKGfXdD
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) July 4, 2023

The Blazers selected No. 3 overall pick Scoot Henderson in the 2023 NBA draft, adding him to a backcourt already consisting of Anfernee Simons, who averaged a career-best 21.1 ppg last season.

There's also rising sophomore Shaedon Sharpe, who the team believes has All-Star potential as a wing player. Still just 20 years old, Sharpe scored 20-plus points in eight of his final 10 games as a rookie.

While much has been made of Lillard's undying loyalty to Portland over his first 11 years as a pro, the NBA remains a 'what have you done for me lately' league. Lillard's loyalty remains no more, and while you could argue the Blazers should do right by a franchise legend, they are under no obligation to fulfill Lillard's wishes.

Ultimately, the chances are the Heat find a third team to take on Herro's contract and help strengthen their offer to Portland. Still, the Blazers have only one opportunity to get this right. It's not every day a team gets the opportunity to shape its roster for the foreseeable future.

Lillard is a seven-time All-Star coming off a career-best 32.2 ppg scoring average. The return for such a player should be sizeable and littered with talent and upside. Until such an offer comes through, expect Portland to hold its ground.

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