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Latest On Damian Lillard

July 3rd, 2023 at 12:04pm CST by Luke Adams

Reports over the weekend indicated that the Trail Blazers are “open for business everywhere in the league” when it comes to Damian Lillard trade talks and are casting a wide net in an effort to get the best possible return.

However, the star guard has been “unwavering” in his desire to join the Heat, according to Barry Jackson and Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald, who say that Lillard has conveyed to the Blazers that Miami is the only place he wants to play.

Chris Haynes essentially said the same thing in the latest episode of his #thisleague UNCUT podcast with Marc Stein. Asked by Stein if Lillard could be talked into another landing spot or if he’s dead-set on ending up with the Heat, Haynes simply replied, “Miami. Miami, Stein, Miami.”

Shams Charania of The Athletic also says that Lillard’s sole focus is on the Heat, acknowledging that the Blazers are exploring other scenarios but suggesting that there’s a “strong belief” around the league that Miami will be 32-year-old’s ultimate destination.

The two sides both appear at this point to be using media leaks to exercise as much leverage as possible. The Blazers’ discussions with other teams can be viewed as an effort to extract as much value out of the Heat as possible, whereas Lillard’s insistence on being sent to Miami may make other suitors wary of surrendering their top assets to acquire him, knowing that he’d be dissatisfied with the outcome, as Jackson, Chiang, and Charania write.

Here’s more on Lillard:

In the #thisleague UNCUT podcast, Stein suggested that there’s a widespread belief around the NBA that Sixers guard James Harden will end up being traded to the Clippers. Haynes responded by noting that the Clippers have also been in touch with the Trail Blazers to inquire on Lillard, though he adds that L.A. seems unlikely to acquire Dame.
The Timberwolves, Pelicans, and Celtics are among the other teams who “reached out to see what it would take” to land Lillard, Haynes reports. A deal with Minnesota would have had to involve Karl-Anthony Towns, according to Haynes, who says that idea was “quickly eliminated.”
Haynes also spoke on the podcast about the timeline that led to Lillard’s Saturday trade request, explaining that after Portland landed the No. 3 overall pick in the draft lottery, the longtime Blazer was told the team would look into trading it for win-now help. However, GM Joe Cronin called him two days before the draft to let him know Portland would likely keep its pick. In Lillard’s meeting with the Blazers this past Monday, he expressed his feeling that “promises weren’t kept,” per Haynes, but vowed to give the team a little more time to see if it could upgrade the roster on the trade market when free agency opened. When that didn’t happen right away, Lillard submitted his trade request to ensure that teams interested in acquiring him – such as the Heat – didn’t make other moves in free agency that would preclude such a deal.
According to Haynes, Lillard first entertained the idea of requesting a trade out of Portland in 2021. One of the reasons he decided against it at the time was because the Blazers hired Chauncey Billups, whom Dame greatly respects, as their head coach that summer. As Haynes details, Lillard didn’t want to put Billups in a position like Stephen Silas in Houston — Harden and Russell Westbrook requested trades shortly after Silas was hired in 2020, which derailed the veteran assistant’s first head coaching opportunity.
In case you missed it, we passed along a couple notes on the Lillard sweepstakes in a trade rumors round-up earlier today.

Trade Rumors: Maxey, Lillard, Jazz, Heat

July 3rd, 2023 at 8:54am CST by Luke Adams

The Sixers‘ stance so far this offseason – as conveyed to multiple reporters – has been that Tyrese Maxey is off the table in trade talks, even for a superstar player. Discussing that subject on the latest Hoop Collective podcast, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, Tim MacMahon, and Tim Bontemps expressed some skepticism about just how untouchable Maxey really is.

“They want you to know that you can’t have Tyrese Maxey,” Windhorst said. “Prime Michael Jordan is available? Don’t call. 25-year-old LeBron James is available? Lose our number. Giannis Antetokounmpo says, ‘I want to be a Sixer’? If Tyrese Maxey is the ask, just keep walking. … I don’t trust them at all on that, but I will say to you that is what is being said.”

While the Sixers are by no means looking to move Maxey, ESPN’s trio believes the front office’s stance on the young guard would be more malleable than what’s been reported if the team has a legitimate chance to acquire a star, including perhaps Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard.

As Windhorst and Bontemps observe, while Philadelphia’s plan not to sign Maxey to a rookie scale extension is ostensibly about maximizing cap room in 2024, he would also be easier to trade if he’s not extended, since he wouldn’t be subject to poison pill provision rules in 2023/24.

Here are a few more trade-related rumors and notes:

Although he’s not reporting that any trade discussions have taken place with the Trail Blazers or that the Jazz will make a run at Lillard, MacMahon said on The Hoop Collective podcast that he has heard Utah is “intrigued by the possibility” of acquiring the All-Star guard, confirming previous reports. MacMahon, Windhorst, and Bontemps ultimately believe the Jazz aren’t ready to make significant deal for a win-now player who’s about to turn 33, but they note that Lillard has a connection to Utah, having played his college ball at Weber State, and the Jazz’s collection of future first-round picks would dwarf what Miami could offer.
At the trade deadline, the Jazz‘s position was that Lauri Markkanen, Walker Kessler, and Ochai Agbaji were their only players who were off the table in trade talks, according to MacMahon, who believes that if Utah did pursue a star this offseason, Markkanen and Kessler would be the only untouchables.
Appearing on NBA TV (Twitter video link), Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel says the Heat are willing to discuss anyone except their two All-Stars as they negotiate a possible deal with Portland for Lillard, who wants to play in Miami. “Put it this way, they basically have loaded up one of those PODS dumpsters in front of the Trail Blazers and said, ‘Take anyone out of here you want besides Bam Adebayo and Jimmy Butler,'” Winderman said. “Maybe they’ll go back and forth on Caleb Martin a little, but it’s basically, sort of, ‘Come and pick and choose. Tell us what you want. Anything else is yours.’ The Heat are all-in on this. This is their moment. There’s a reason they didn’t go hard after Bradley Beal. There’s a reason they held off on some other moves. This is their play.”

Heat Rumors: Strus, Robinson, Herro, Bouyea

July 2nd, 2023 at 6:29pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Heat didn’t go beyond their initial offer to Max Strus, according to Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel (Twitter link).

Strus attracted plenty of attention on the free agent market and Miami eventually agreed to a sign-and-trade with the Cavaliers that turned into a three-team swap. Strus wound up with a four-year, $63MM contract, far more than the Heat were willing to pay him. The Heat will get a traded player exception worth approximately $7MM in the deal.

Miami did make a counter-offer for Gabe Vincent, Winderman adds, but it couldn’t stop him from agreeing to a three-year contract with the Lakers for more money.

We have more on the Heat:

Orlando Robinson has signed a standard minimum-salary contract but he has some work to do to earn the full value for 2023/24, Winderman tweets. There are conditional elements to the contract, including guarantee dates. One of those stipulations is that he must make the opening-night roster.
The Nets have been contacted regarding the possibility of acquiring Tyler Herro in order to facilitate a Damian Lillard deal between the Trail Blazers and Heat, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald tweets. This confirms another report that the Nets were interested in Herro, whose four-year, $120MM extension kicks in next season.
Herro may be weary of hearing his name in trade rumors. For what it’s worth, Herro has removed “Miami Heat Guard” from the header on his Twitter feed and replaced it with “Slow motion,” NBA Central relays (Twitter link).
Jamaree Bouyea, recently signed to a two-way contract, believes he can become the next Heat success story among undrafted players, Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald tweets. Bouyea played on separate 10-day contracts with the Heat and Wizards as an undrafted rookie last year. “I like how they just invest, they invest in their young guys,” he said. “Obviously, they have a bunch of undrafted talent that got paid this offseason and offseasons before this, as well.”

Trade Rumors: Lillard, Harden, Brogdon, Fournier, Rockets

July 2nd, 2023 at 12:10pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Trail Blazers told rival teams that they are “open for business everywhere in the league” regarding a Damian Lillard trade, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (YouTube link).

Lillard, who asked for a trade on Saturday after weeks of speculation, reportedly hopes to end up in Miami, where he could be part of a title contender. However, the Heat may not be able to offer the best trade package, and Portland GM Joe Cronin intends to focus on the team’s needs rather than Lillard’s preference while negotiating a deal.

“For Portland, they’re going to go out into the marketplace and try to find the best deal they can,” Wojnarowski said, “a combination of young players, draft picks, salary cap relief, all the things you want when a star of Damian Lillard’s magnitude asks to be traded.”

Woj adds that he doesn’t expect a Lillard deal to be completed quickly and that Miami doesn’t have any advantage because Lillard wants to go there. The Blazers haven’t told Lillard whether they intend to comply with his request to join the Heat, according to Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald.

There are more trade rumors to pass along:

The Sixers‘ asking price for James Harden has been “really high,” Wojnarowski said in the same segment, noting that president of basketball operations Daryl Morey tends to seek a lot in return when a star player wants to be traded. Harden picked up his $35.6MM player option this week, and reports have indicated that he wants to be dealt to the Clippers. Wojnarowski adds that it’s “not an easy trade to make” because Philadelphia has to get value in return to pair with MVP Joel Embiid and keep the team in title contention. Woj speculates that trade talks could extend beyond Summer League action.
The Celtics aren’t trying to trade Sixth Man of the Year Malcolm Brogdon, a source tells Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe. Brogdon was involved in an early version of the Kristaps Porzingis deal, but that fell through when the Clippers pulled out due to medical concerns about Brogdon. Himmelsbach adds that Brogdon is expected to be ready for the start of next season, even though he’s considering surgery for a right elbow injury he suffered in the Eastern Conference Finals.
The Knicks will continue to explore trades involving Evan Fournier, per Ian Begley of SNY.tv, but they don’t need to open any more cap flexibility to add Donte DiVincenzo after agreeing to send Obi Toppin to the Pacers. New York doesn’t seem to be actively pursuing either Lillard or Harden, according to Begley.
David Weiner of ClutchFans.net (Twitter link) suspects the Rockets will fold multiple reported trade agreements into their sign-and-trade deal for Dillon Brooks in order to maximize their cap room. After acquiring Patty Mills and using up their remaining cap space, Weiner posits, Houston will package Josh Christopher (to the Grizzlies), Usman Garuba and TyTy Washington (to the Hawks), and Mills (destination TBD), whose combined salaries will be enough to match Brooks’ expected first-year salary (approximately $21.6MM) without requiring room.

Latest On Damian Lillard

July 1st, 2023 at 8:33pm CST by Arthur Hill

Trail Blazers general manager Joe Cronin will try to accommodate the trade request Damian Lillard made earlier today, but he will also operate in the best interests of his own team, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Rival front offices believe Cronin is looking for a “star-level” return and he’s willing to consider other teams besides Miami, which is Lillard’s preferred destination.

Cronin confirmed that sentiment in a statement he issued after the Lillard news was made public, saying, “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, and we are going to do what’s best for the team in pursuit of that goal.” (Twitter link)

Tyler Herro, who has four years and $120MM left on his contract, is considered a vital part of any Heat deal for salary matching purposes. However, sources tell Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link) that Cronin doesn’t view Herro as a good fit with his roster and would try to find a third team to take him if Lillard is traded to Miami. The Nets have been considered as a team that might take on Herro’s contract, according to Ian Begley of SNY.tv (Twitter link).

There’s also a sense that the Blazers won’t rush into a deal and will take their time to make sure they get the best return for Lillard, tweets Mark Medina of Sportsnaut.

Many teams are interested in acquiring Lillard, according to Sam Amick of The Athletic, who names the Sixers, Clippers and Jazz among them. Amick reiterates that a third team would likely have to get involved for a trade with Miami to work.

Amick also examines what led to Lillard’s trade request, saying he was ready to ask for a deal when he and his agent met with Cronin on Monday. Cronin was able to talk Lillard into waiting to see what the team was able to do in free agency, but when no major additions took place Friday night, Lillard called coach Chauncey Billups and decided it was time to move on.

Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer also has doubts that Lillard will end up in Miami, stating that the Heat’s potential best offer would be “one of the worst trades in NBA history.” He believes Miami would be willing to accept Jusuf Nurkic‘s contract along with Lillard, while sending back Herro, Kyle Lowry, Jaime Jaquez, Nikola Jovic, first-round picks in 2028 and 2030 and a pick swap in 2029. O’Connor points out that the deal wouldn’t give Portland a collection of valuable picks or young talent to build around.

O’Connor lists eight teams that he believes should be aggressively pursuing Lillard, starting with the Sixers. Philadelphia has indicated that it’s not willing to part with Tyrese Maxey, but if that changes, O’Connor views Maxey, two future first-rounders, a pick swap and expiring contracts as better than what Miami can offer. He points out that Sixers president Daryl Morey can pick up more trade assets by sending James Harden to the Clippers before addressing Lillard.

Orlando Robinson Signs Standard Deal With Heat

July 1st, 2023 at 8:20pm CST by Rory Maher

8:20pm: Robinson inked a minimum-salary contract and it is now official, per NBA.com’s transactions log.

7:58pm: Orlando Robinson will be signing a standard contract with the Heat, a league source tells Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald (Twitter link).

While the terms of the deal were not disclosed, Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel strongly implies (via Twitter) that the 7’0″ center will be receiving the veteran’s minimum. The move will also free up a two-way slot, as Robinson spent 2022/23 — his rookie season — on a two-way deal and was a restricted free agent after Miami issued him a qualifying offer.

As Winderman explains, moving Robinson to a standard deal creates room for the Heat to sign Jamaree Bouyea, Dru Smith and Jamal Cain to two-way contracts. The deals for Bouyea and Smith are already official, while Cain remains a restricted free agent for now.

Robinson, who turns 23 later this month, went undrafted in 2022 out of Fresno State. He originally signed an Exhibit 10 deal with the Heat, was waived before the season started, signed a two-way deal, was waived, and then inked another two-way deal for the rest of the season in December.

There was talk of converting Robinson’s two-way deal into a standard contract when he became a rotation regular due to injuries, but that didn’t come to fruition after the Heat signed veterans Kevin Love and Cody Zeller. Love re-signed with Miami, but Zeller remains a free agent.

Overall, Robinson averaged 3.7 PPG and 4.1 RPG in 31 games (13.7 MPG) for the Heat last season. He also had strong performances with their G League affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce.

Miami already agreed to terms with another free agent center, Thomas Bryant, and has Love as another option in the middle. Robinson will have to earn his stripes in training camp in order to secure rotation minutes behind Bam Adebayo.

Heat Sign Jaquez To Rookie Deal; Smith, Bouyea To Two-Ways

July 1st, 2023 at 5:06pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The Heat have officially inked rookie small forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. to his rookie scale contract, the team has announced (Twitter link).

Jaquez, a 6’7″ swingman, was selected with the No. 18 pick out of UCLA in this summer’s draft. During his final season with the team in 2022/23, the 22-year-old averaged 17.8 PPG on .481/.317/.770 shooting splits, 8.2 RPG and 2.4 APG. He was a consensus All-American Second Team honoree during his last collegiate run with the Bruins, and a three-time All-Pac-12 Teamer.

Miami also just officially signed Dru Smith and Jamaree Bouyea to two-way contracts, according to the league’s official transactions log. Though there is a general NBA moratorium on signings between July 1-6, two-way and rookie signings are still permitted even during this period.

Smith, a 6’3″ shooting guard, initially inked an affiliate deal with the Heat’s NBAGL team, the Sioux Fall Skyforce, in 2021 after going undrafted out of Missouri in 2021. He signed two-way deals with Miami and the Nets last season. Across 22 total games between the Skyforce and Long Island Nets in 2022/23, Smith averaged 15.5 PPG on .482/.379/.682 shooting splits, plus 5.5 RPG, 4.8 APG, 2.0 SPG and 0.6 BPG.

Bouyea, a 6’2″ combo guard, played on separate 10-day contracts with the Heat and Wizards as an undrafted rookie last year, appearing in a total of five games between both clubs.

The two-way qualifying offers that the Heat previously extended to restricted free agents Jamal Cain and Orlando Robinson are still on the table, per Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel (via Twitter).

With word breaking that Trail Blazers All-Star point guard Damian Lillard would reportedly prefer to be dealt to Miami specifically, the Jaquez deal is a bit more notable, as it means that he now cannot be included as part of a trade for the next 30 days. That does not necessarily mean he cannot or will not be a part of a hypothetical package for Lillard, only that a move could not be officially finalized until July 31.

Damian Lillard Rumors: Heat, Herro, Martin, Nurkic, Grant

July 1st, 2023 at 3:31pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Shockwaves were sent throughout the league this morning when it was reported that longtime Trail Blazers All-NBA point guard Damian Lillard had requested a trade.

During an appearance on NBA Today, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter video link) spoke with host Malika Andrews about the curious timing of the deal.

“His conversations with the organization, at least going back several days [to] that last Monday meeting in Portland, the expectation was he was going to give the organization a chance to get through free agency, and see how they could improve the team,” Woj said. “And on the opening night of free agency, they committed in Portland $160MM to Jerami Grant to return to the Blazers, certainly with Damian Lillard in mind. And now, less than 24 hours later, Lillard has asked for a trade.”

Sources tell Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report that Lillard’s agent Aaron Goodwin informed Joe Cronin of his client’s decision on Saturday morning.

Haynes is one of many reporters hearing that Lillard hopes to be dealt to Miami. Heat All-NBA swingman Jimmy Butler, fresh off leading the team to its second Finals appearance in four seasons, has told Miami personnel that Lillard is his No. 1 target for the club’s offseason, Haynes adds.

Miami is prepared to make an offer centered around young shooting guard Tyler Herro, according to Haynes, who says sharpshooter Duncan Robinson and draft picks could be used to build out the package. The team is hoping to avoid including affordable forward Caleb Martin in trade talks, per Haynes and Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald (via Twitter).

The Trail Blazers, for their part, may angle to unload the contract of veteran center Jusuf Nurkic in a deal.

“If you want to go into a full rebuild, Brooklyn has the better assets going forward,” a front office executive told Sean Deveney of Heavy Sports. “But Portland is pretty clear that they are not looking to be terrible next year. They will be young but they want to stay competitive. Dealing with Miami gets you there.”

Surrounding third overall lottery pick Scoot Henderson with a play-making scorer at the level of Herro and perhaps a marksman with the pedigree of Robinson could help the Trail Blazers at least remain somewhat competitive next season.

However, there have been rumblings that Portland may be “lukewarm” on Herro, so it’s possible a third team would have to get involved, as Jackson writes for The Miami Herald in an exploration of possible trade scenarios. Haynes (Twitter link) has indeed heard that any Lillard trade between the Blazers and Heat would probably have to include a third team, though he doesn’t specify whether that’s related to Portland’s feelings about Herro.

The Sixers are another club that hopes to get into the running for Lillard. However, Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link) is hearing that young combo guard Tyrese Maxey, who is still on his rookie scale contract, is currently off the table in any trade talks, even for Lillard. Fischer reiterates that rival teams, including Philadelphia, are convinced Lillard hopes to be moved to the Heat specifically.

Finally, Wojnarowski provides an important update on another key veteran whose future is affected by Lillard’s trade request, tweeting that today’s news won’t change Portland’s plans to re-sign Grant to the five-year, $160MM contract he and the team agreed to on Friday night.

That deal can’t be made official until July 6, so either side could back out of their verbal agreement before then. However, it would be a bad look for a club to rescind such a significant offer, and Grant seems unlikely to do anywhere near that well elsewhere on the free agent market.

Luke Adams contributed to this story.

Heat Sign Thomas Bryant To Two-Year Contract

July 1st, 2023 at 12:25pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 2: The Heat have formally announced Bryant’s deal with the team, issuing a press release to confirm that it’s official.

JULY 1: The Heat and free agent center Thomas Bryant have agreed to a two-year contract, agents Mark Bartelstein and Zach Kurtin tell Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

It’ll be a minimum-salary contract with a second-year player option, according to Wojnarowski. The first-year cap hit will be about $2.53MM, then Bryant will make a decision on a $2.85MM salary for 2024/25.

Bryant, who will turn 26 later this month, signed with the Lakers in free agency a year ago after returning from an Achilles tear that limited him to 37 total games for the Wizards in the prior two seasons. He played well in Los Angeles, averaging 12.1 points and 6.8 rebounds in 41 games, including 25 starts. However, when his rotation role was cut back, he reportedly sought a change of scenery.

The Lakers acquiesced, sending him to the Nuggets in a trade-deadline deal. Bryant didn’t end up playing much in Denver either, averaging just 11.4 MPG in 18 appearances down the stretch, but he got to part of the team’s championship run this spring.

In Miami, Bryant figures to get an opportunity to play rotation minutes behind Bam Adebayo at center, with centers Cody Zeller and Omer Yurtseven both on the open market and seemingly unlikely to return. The Heat’s newest center will bring some floor-stretching ability, having made 36.6% of his career three-pointers.

A strong season would put Bryant in position to opt out and return to free agency a year from now.

Trail Blazers’ Damian Lillard Requests Trade

July 1st, 2023 at 11:00am CST by Luke Adams

Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard has requested a trade out of Portland, sources tell Chris Haynes of TNT and Bleacher Report (Twitter link). The team is expected to work to accommodate the request, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Ramona Shelburne (Twitter link).

Lillard’s future in Portland has been the subject of speculation for several years, as the team hasn’t made it out of the first round of the postseason since 2019 and has missed the playoffs entirely in each of the last two seasons.

The seven-time All-Star, who has spent his entire 11-year NBA career with the Trail Blazers, has repeatedly expressed his loyalty to the organization and conveyed a desire to stick it out in Portland. However, Lillard – who will turn 33 later this month – has also made it clear that he wants to have a chance to contend for a championship during his remaining prime years.

Lillard spoke earlier this year about his preference that the Blazers look to build out their roster with veterans rather than prioritizing youth. So when the franchise landed the No. 3 overall pick in this year’s draft, there was a sense that what Portland did with that selection would significantly influence Lillard’s next move.

Rather than trading the No. 3 pick for an impact player, the Blazers kept it and drafted Scoot Henderson, a 19-year-old guard who has superstar upside but who will need some time to develop at the NBA level. Portland also reached an agreement on a five-year, $160MM deal with free agent forward Jerami Grant on Friday, but Lillard has apparently determined that the team’s moves early in the offseason won’t substantially increase its chances of contending in the short term.

According to Shelburne (Twitter link), Lillard considered asking for a trade when he met with the Blazers’ front office on Monday, but wanted to give them every opportunity to make roster upgrades this week. He decided on Friday night to request a move, Shelburne adds.

Haynes initially reported (via Twitter) the Heat and Nets are the preferred landing spots for the former No. 6 overall pick. Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports adds (via Twitter) that no other teams – including the Sixers – are on Lillard’s wish list for now, though Shelburne (Twitter link) adds that he has a “deep respect” for the Spurs.

While Brooklyn could put together a competitive offer of players and draft picks, it sounds like Lillard is focused specifically on Miami. League sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link) that the Blazers were told that Dame wants to end up with the Heat.

Lillard spoke to some Heat players recently about how a deal might work, tweets Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press. According to Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald (Twitter link), the star guard loves the city of Miami, is good friends with Bam Adebayo, has “great respect” for Jimmy Butler, and views the Heat as a legitimate contender.

Lillard doesn’t have a no-trade clause, so he could be dealt to any team, but the Blazers likely won’t want to reward his 11 years of service to the franchise by sending him somewhere he doesn’t want to be. If Portland does open up the Lillard sweepstakes to other suitors, Philadelphia would have interest in exploring a deal, as would the Clippers, tweets Wojnarowski.

The Heat are expected to “vigorously” pursue a trade for Lillard, according to Jackson and Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. Miami was reportedly in the mix for Bradley Beal in June, but after Phoenix traded for the longtime Wizards star, reports indicated that the Heat were focused on Lillard and were willing to wait for him to ask out of Portland.

A Miami offer for Lillard would almost certainly include at least two of Tyler Herro, Kyle Lowry, and Duncan Robinson. The Heat also have at least two tradable future first-round picks (2028 and 2030) and could sweeten their offer by attaching young prospects such as Nikola Jovic or 2023 first-rounder Jaime Jaquez, or a veteran on a team-friendly contract like Caleb Martin. They could also offer multiple first-round pick swaps.

According to Wojnarowski, the Trail Blazers will prioritize young players and draft picks in their Lillard trade negotiations. In Henderson and 2022 lottery pick Shaedon Sharpe, the club already has two young potential cornerstones to build around.