The Heat don’t have any reason to increase their offer for Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard unless they’re determined to have him when training camp opens, Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald writes in a mailbag column. No other team has made a significant offer for Lillard, Chiang notes, so Miami would essentially be bidding against itself by giving more assets to Portland.
Chiang adds that the first step would be for the Heat and Blazers to resume trade discussions, which have been dormant for several weeks. Sources around the league tell Chiang that they expect the teams to start talking again some time before they both open camp in early October.
Chiang also speculates that things might get “messier” in Portland if Lillard is still on the roster at the start of camp, which would mark three months after he submitted his trade request. It’s not ideal for the Heat to start preparing for a new season amid so much uncertainty, so the time pressure could renew both teams’ interest in getting a trade completed.
There’s more from Miami:
- Without a trade, the Heat’s most likely starting lineup appears to be Kyle Lowry, Tyler Herro, Jimmy Butler, Kevin Love and Bam Adebayo, Chiang adds in the same piece. Butler and Adebayo are the only full-time starters returning from a team that just reached the NBA Finals a few months ago, although Herro was sidelined with an injury and Lowry and Love both have extensive starting experience. Chiang speculates that Caleb Martin could take Love’s place on occasions when Miami wants to use a smaller starting five, and Herro could be used as a makeshift point guard with Josh Richardson starting alongside him in the backcourt.
- The Heat were mentioned as a possible destination for Christian Wood before he signed with the Lakers this week, but Miami isn’t in position to make complementary roster moves until it knows what’s going to happen with Lillard, according to Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel. Wood reportedly had been watching the trade requests involving Lillard and James Harden to see if a situation might open up that would offer him regular playing time, but he decided not to wait any longer to find his next team.
- Erik Spoelstra’s experience as an assistant coach with Team USA during the World Cup provided him with another example of the need for size on the front line, Winderman adds. The Americans were routinely outrebounded by larger opponents, just as Miami was in losing to the Nuggets in the NBA Finals. The Heat finished 27th in the league in rebounding last season, which may affect Spoelstra’s decision on whom to start at power forward.
Lillard update 74; still no change. Thanks for sharing.
Portland is such a joke. This is the only deal. The longer they wait the worse it gets.
This is incredibly insightful. Thanks for the analysis.
Or they just keep him since he’s under contract and call his bluff. Lillard will be in the lineup for Portland opening night.
True he’s not the type to sit out, but how does that benefit Portland?
@Kurt Please, explain.
Liliard is under contract for 4 years. He will be making $60m at age 35 and 36. Who else is going to want to take on that contract? He is only valuable to a contender, but in order to match salary, a contender would have to give up good players to get him. What team is going to do that? The only team I can see is Philly but what can the offer better than Miami?
The only team that would benefit from taking on Liliards contract to some degree is the Lakers if they trade LeBron and picks because Liliard contract would matchup with AD. But we all know they ain’t trading Lebron
There aren’t a lot of Damien lillards out there bud. I will take a 35 yr old dame then 98% of these young cats.
The USA coaching staff has combined for how many NBA Championships?
The Serbian, German, and Canadian coaching staffs (combined) have how many NBA Championships?
NBA coaching is so overrated.
Maybe those teams were just better? The media never wants to actually acknowledge when other teams are better than the US team.
Even with Lillard the heat are pretenders.
He’s already got a starting PF.
If, as suggested, MIA made an “offer” that POR rejected, and MIA isn’t going to increase that “offer” until there’s another bidder, then why would POR resume talks with MIA before then?
FWIW, 10 out of 10 Miami area reporters appear to agree that POR should take MIA’s “offer” for Lillard, even if they don’t seem to know what’s in it.
Exactly. And in fact nobody knows what that “offer” is or that one was ever made.
The best thing Miami can do is renounce their pursuit of Lillard. Their season is shot if they don’t.
Their situation is worse than the Knicks. About half that team could be traded for just about anyone at any time.
The Miami threat is just about everyone for just one person that is making twice as much over the next 4 years than those being shipped out.
In no way can those players do anything right as long as Miami continues its pursuit of Dame.
Their season is shot before it starts if they don’t.
Size is everything in hoops, as I always said small ball is what teams without good bigs needs to do like GSW in the 80’s… but it can’t be a strategy that you chose, hence why Team USA were the whipping boys of the WC… centers rule, as simple as!!!
What do the Heat have to trade? At this moment, the Heat are capable of trading two first-round picks and three first-round swaps. The two exceptions within their seven-year allotment are in 2025 and 2026.Jul 14, 2023
link to google.com
It will never get better than this. No Team is giving up more. It’s really about what you want to do with Herro. So PLEASE stop with the noise. Dame will be in Miami. It’s best for everyone ……
This is just a tired and lazy take. It’s up to Riley to find enough value with Herro with a 3rd team to satisfy Portland’s trade demands. If he can’t do it, then it’s on him. It’s not Portland’s job to take an asset that they don’t want and hope they can find value for him in the future.
The Heat have Bam to trade if they really wanted Dame. They obviously don’t want to give him up, so Pat needs to put his big boy pants on and do some actual work.
The offers for Lillard will not get worse either. Actually, there is a greater possibility they could improve 30 games into the season when overreaction by teams and media is at an all time high. So why should Portland jump now? They aren’t going anywhere this year with or without Dame.
As for the Heat, how many more solid years does Butler have left? Probably about as many as Dame. So the pressure is on Miami to pair them, because they have no other plan. Portland is already moving on strategically from Dame.
Dames game is lame, in Miami it will be the same. He’ll be dribbling so much he looks in pain, never using his brain. just shooting so much, the season goes down the drain. But at least it’s Miami and you have the Caines!
If that is the lineup, we’re going to miss the playoffs
A lineup of Herro, Richardson, Jimmy, Highsmith, Bam or Herro, Richardson, Duncan Robinson, Jimmy, Bam
Richardson allows for Herro to make more sense as a starter. After last year, I dont see them going back to him off the bench where he should have been previously, and that’s fine now that they have Richardson
Chiang should be fired for thinking a 6’5 player should play C