Damian Lillard Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Heat Notes: Lillard, Starters, Wood, Rebounding

September 10th, 2023 at 9:01am CST by Arthur Hill

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.

Woj: Blazers May Be Prepared To Hold Damian Lillard Into Season

September 7th, 2023 at 7:46pm CST by Tristan Tucker

Appearing on a recent episode of NBA Today, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski said that “very little of substance” has happened in terms of movement on a potential Damian Lillard trade since the star guard first made his trade request in early July (YouTube link).

According to Wojnarowski, the league had shut down since summer league in a way he hadn’t seen in the last several years, leading to a lack of any traction on any potential blockbuster trades.

Now that executives are returning from vacations and players are coming in to work out in team facilities, there’s an expectation that conversations between the Trail Blazers and interested teams will ramp up in the coming weeks, per Wojnarowski. The next real deadline or landmark for Portland, Wojnarowksi adds, is the start of training camps in late September.

Wojnarowki says that the Blazers and maybe even Lillard are prepared for the possibility of the veteran remaining with the team in training camp and even into the regular season. The Blazers could look to reevaluate the situation after the first 20-25 games of the season and see how they’re performing, in addition to determining at that point whether the landscape of interested teams has changed, Wojnarowski said.

As ESPN’s Zach Lowe recently reported, there has been no indication that any team besides the Heat has expressed serious interest in making a trade for Lillard. However, as has long been the case, the Blazers aren’t interested in any packages Miami is putting on the table at this moment in time. Miami’s best offer would almost certainly include some combination of Kyle Lowry, Tyler Herro or Duncan Robinson, as well as first-round picks and young players like Nikola Jovic or Jaime Jaquez Jr.

After the first 20-25 games of the season, Wojnarowski suggests, teams that weren’t inquiring on Lillard before may become interested, such as an unexpected contender looking to go all in. Additionally, teams with existing interest in Lillard (ie. Miami) could be willing to increase their trade offers. Wojnarowski adds that he expects any Lillard trade to be a multi-team deal, rather than a two-team agreement.

Lillard, 33, is coming off an elite All-Star season in which he averaged 32.2 points and 7.3 assists in 58 games. One of the best Blazers ever, Lillard has played with Portland for 11 seasons, so he may be unwilling to sour relationships in the organization.

Lillard’s status as an all-time great who is still capable of averaging over 30 points per night makes high trade demands from Portland’s end understandable. However, hesitation from opposing teams also makes sense, given the guard’s age and contract (he could be on the books for $63.2MM in his age-36 season, pending a player option in 2026/27).

Lowe’s Latest: Lillard, Harden, Raptors, Bucks

September 6th, 2023 at 3:11pm CST by Luke Adams

There has been no forward momentum on the Damian Lillard front, ESPN’s Zach Lowe and Bobby Marks said on the latest episode of The Lowe Post podcast (YouTube link). The Trail Blazers guard requested a trade over two months ago, but the team doesn’t seem any closer to making a deal today than it was at the start of July.

“I’ve heard there’s been nothing. No meaningful dialogue at all,” Lowe said. “More pointedly… I just don’t think there’s been another team. If there is, I don’t know about it. That could very well the case, I may not know. But I have not heard of any other team that has really dove head-long – or even halfway – into the Dame Lillard sweepstakes.”

Marks also hasn’t heard any rumblings about any team besides the Heat that’s prepared to make a run at Lillard, and agreed that Portland and Miami don’t appear to have had substantial discussions or made any progress toward a deal.

“It’s been very quiet, certainly, from the Miami front,” Marks said. “I think the only way we hear more about Dame is if Dame makes it messy. And I don’t think Damian Lillard right now is willing to make it messy in Portland.”

Here are a few more highlights from The Lowe Post:

As is the case with the Heat and Lillard, the Clippers still appear to be the only viable suitor for Sixers guard James Harden, according to Lowe. “I know that Howard Beck and others have stated that there may be two or three other teams that have been sniffing, investigating,” Lowe said. “Certainly, if you talk to the Sixers, they have reason to say, “Oh, there’s a broad, frothy James Harden market out there.’ I really don’t think there is. I think it’s been mostly the Clippers.” However, Lowe added that the teams haven’t had “a whole lot of dialogue” in the last couple months.
While there has been some skepticism that the Clippers are able to offer the sort of package that would appeal to the Sixers for Harden, Lowe believes that Daryl Morey and the Philadelphia front office would be willing to pull the trigger if Los Angeles made the right draft assets available, since those could be flipped for an impact player. “If the Clippers were to put both (of their tradable) first-round picks in, even without (Terance Mann), I think there’s a two-team deal that exists that the Sixers would do,” Lowe said. “I don’t think the two teams have been anywhere close to any of that kind of deal, which is why I think the only play I see for the Sixers here is bring him to camp, hope…he plays pretty well, and the Clippers and some other teams with high expectations sputter over their first 20 games and get desperate.”
Lowe suggests he wouldn’t be surprised if the Raptors make some sort of move in the next six weeks, noting that the team still has multiple key players entering contract years (including Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby) and has yet to complete an extension for Gary Trent Jr. that was rumored to be close back in June. “A lot of balls in the air for the Raptors,” Lowe said.
Marks and Lowe both believe that the Bucks‘ handling of Jrue Holiday‘s contract situation when he becomes extension-eligible in February could be a crucial domino that affects Giannis Antetokounmpo‘s future. Holiday can opt out of his current contract and become a free agent next summer if he doesn’t sign a new deal before then.

Northwest Notes: Lillard, Gobert, Alexander-Walker, Clarkson

September 2nd, 2023 at 10:59pm CST by Arthur Hill

The market for Damian Lillard would have been limited even without his insistence on playing for the Heat, Sean Deveney writes in a Forbes article. Two months have passed since Lillard asked the Trail Blazers for a trade, and an unidentified executive tells Deveney that not many teams would have pursued Lillard regardless of his preference.

“I don’t think anyone likes the idea of Dame coming in and forcing the Blazers’ hand like this, forcing them to take a deal from a team that does not have the assets,” the executive said. “That’s a bad precedent, and it is one we are seeing too much of. But if Dame had not said, ‘Miami or nothing,’ where else was Portland really going to go for a deal? Maybe Brooklyn? But where else? There’s not that many teams that are going to give you a bunch of players and picks for a 33-year-old who can’t stay healthy and has a giant contract sitting there.”

Lillard will make about $215MM over the next four years, including a two-year extension he signed last summer that will pay him $58.5MM when he’s 35 and $63MM when he’s 36. There are also injury concerns after Lillard was shut down early the past two seasons.

The Heat are one of the few teams willing to absorb that deal, Deveney adds, and Lillard is a good fit with their other personnel, so Miami would have been a natural destination even if Lillard hadn’t mentioned the city.

There’s more from the Northwest Division:

After a disappointing World Cup run with France, Rudy Gobert is looking forward to starting his second season with the Timberwolves, per Antonis Stroggylakis of Eurohoops. Gobert said there were a lot of adjustments to deal with last season, but he saw positive developments, even though it ended with a first-round playoff ouster. “We didn’t go as far as we wanted to go but we were resilient,” he said. “We had a lot of injuries and a lot of things that didn’t go our way. But we kept fighting. I liked the mindset that we had. Especially in the playoffs.”
Nickeil Alexander-Walker is looking forward to having stability when he reports to Timberwolves camp, according to Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic. Alexander-Walker has been traded three times in his four-year career, but he signed a two-year, $9MM contract with Minnesota this summer.
After scoring 34 points as the Philippines closed out World Cup play with a win over China, Jazz guard Jordan Clarkson told fans in Manila that he plans to continue playing for the national team, BasketNews relays. “I do not think this was my last performance with this jersey,” Clarkson said. “I have more time, and I still can hoop.”

Southeast Notes: Johnson, Toppert, Jovic, Heat

September 2nd, 2023 at 11:43am CST by Tristan Tucker

Hawks forward Jalen Johnson took a step forward last season into a rotational role with Atlanta and he’s looking to make another leap next season, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Lauren Williams. Williams writes that Johnson has spent most of his time this offseason working out in Atlanta and Los Angeles, which allowed him to cross paths with LeBron James.

Johnson and James share a trainer in Chris Johnson, and the opportunity arose to train with James. The Duke product said he was trying to learn as much as he could from the future Hall of Famer.

“Before the workout, seeing how he goes about his business,” Johnson said. “Just once he gets the gym, he’s locked in, laser-focused, does his routine and then, as far as drill-wise, [he’s] the best on court. Everything’s precise. Everything’s the right way. Even if he messes up, he messes up and makes a shot, he’s still coming back and doing it the right way.”

And while Johnson spent time trying to pick up on what James was doing from the side, LeBron also outright gave the third-year Hawks forward some advice.

“He’s giving me pointers on how to do certain moves, how to be more effective with certain moves, little tricks, just kind of when we’re working out,” Johnson said. “So, just hearing that from him, having that as someone that I can reach out and ask questions to now, you know, it’s cool.”

Johnson, 21, went from playing in 22 games and averaging 5.5 minutes in his rookie season to 70 games and 14.9 minutes in his sophomore year in the league. In 2022/23, Johnson averaged 5.6 points and 4.0 rebounds per game — he’s in line for even more minutes, following the offseason trade of John Collins.

Atlanta seems primed to blend their veterans with their impressive young talent, including Johnson. Onyeka Okongwu and AJ Griffin appear poised for breakout seasons and the team picked guard Kobe Bufkin with the No. 15 overall pick in the 2023 draft. Trae Young and Dejounte Murray headline the team, which acquired veterans like Wesley Matthews and Patty Mills this offseason.

But Johnson is just one part of that, and he’s keeping everything in perspective.

“I put in the same work every summer,” Johnson said. “Even if John doesn’t get traded, I feel like it’s the same mentality of trying to kill everybody that’s in front of me. Just kind of got to have that killer mentality as far as no matter what situation that is, just go control what you can control, and that’s what I’m going to do.”

We have more from the Southeast Division:

The Wizards are hiring LSU assistant coach Cody Toppert to become the head coach of their G League affiliate, the Capital City Go-Go, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). Wojnarowski notes that Toppert previously worked with the Suns in the NBA and as a G League coach. Toppert also spent time with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, the affiliate of the Rockets, as well as the University of Memphis as an assistant.
Though the Heat don’t have any players on Team USA, Nikola Jovic is putting on a show this summer while playing for Serbia’s national team. Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel continues documenting his performances this season. While Jovic has struggled at times, including a five-point showing in a loss to Italy, Winderman suggests Jovic’s stock as a whole continues to rise this summer. Jovic’s best performance of the summer was a 25-point outing against South Sudan. Winderman writes that Jovic’s summer should dispel any notion of the Heat not having enough assets to make a play for Damian Lillard. In another piece, Winderman writes that Jovic’s trade value seems to be comparable to Precious Achiuwa, whom Miami included in the trade for Kyle Lowry.
In a separate piece, Winderman writes that the Heat‘s trade history suggests they ultimately won’t be completely picked clean by any potential Lillard trade. While several huge NBA trades have gone down in the past year including dozens of draft picks, from the Rudy Gobert haul last summer to the Kevin Durant package in February, the Heat have never traded more than two first-round picks for a player. That includes the sign-and-trades for James and Chris Bosh, the Shaquille O’Neal trade, and the Alonzo Mourning deal. While Miami may ultimately have to give into Portland’s demands for Lillard, Winderman writes, they’re justified for not wanting to put everything on the table right away.

Celtics Notes: Lillard, Tatum, Porzingis, Griffin, Banton

August 31st, 2023 at 9:02am CST by Arthur Hill

Jayson Tatum has reached out to Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard in an attempt to sell him on the benefits of playing for the Celtics, Marc J. Spears of Andscape said on a recent podcast with Bill Oram of The Oregonian (hat tip to HoopsHype).

Lillard, whose future has been in limbo since making his trade request nearly two months ago, remains determined to get to Miami and join a perennially successful organization that is coming off an NBA Finals appearance. Lillard would love to team up with Bam Adebayo and Jimmy Butler and go to a warm-weather city with no state income tax, Spears says, but mostly he wants a chance to compete for a title. Although his preference for the Heat hasn’t changed, it appears players from other teams are making an effort to recruit him, including Tatum.

“I know that Boston, I know Jayson Tatum has called him, try to get in his ear, but his focus is definitely on Miami,” Spears said.

There’s more on the Celtics:

President of basketball operations Brad Stevens isn’t worried about the health of Kristaps Porzingis despite a plantar fasciitis issue that prevented him from playing in the World Cup, relays Conor Ryan of The Boston Globe. Appearing on WEEI’s “Jones and Mego” show, Stevens said team officials weren’t aware of Porzingis’ condition when they acquired him from the Wizards in a three-team trade, but there’s no reason to think it will prevent him from playing. “He’s at the FIBA Tournament with the (Latvian) team so he’s doing his rehab there,” Stevens said. “We were with him in the 10 days, our training staff was with him (before the tournament) as he was diagnosed with plantar fasciitis. He went through all the progressions and he really tried to ramp up and play. He just determined he didn’t want to deal with lingering effects down the road. This is something that we should be able to navigate and manage in the next few weeks and be ready for training camp. We’re planning on having him for Day 1 of training camp.”
Blake Griffin remains unsigned and it’s uncertain if the Celtics will reach out to him again, but Stevens appreciated his performance last season, per Brian Robb of MassLive. In the same radio interview, Stevens complimented all the back-up big men for helping the team stay in contention after Robert Williams‘ early-season injury, saying, “Blake was as good as it gets both on and off the court.”
Growing up, new Celtic Dalano Banton patterned his game after former Boston point guard Rajon Rondo, according to Taylor Snow of NBA.com.

Northwest Notes: Spagnolo, Lillard, Nuggets Arena, SGA

August 29th, 2023 at 8:50pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Timberwolves draft-and-stash prospect Matteo Spagnolo is playing for Italy in the World Cup. The combo guard, selected in the second round of the 2022 draft, could develop a rotation player if/when he plays in the NBA. The Timberwolves are confident that Spagnolo – who is still only 20 years old – will eventually join them.

“He’s certainly a guy that every time he gets out there, you see, I think, a kid that’s getting better,” Timberwolves president of basketball operations Tim Connelly said to The Athletic’s Jon Krawczynski. “At his age, the physicality of this competition really stands out. To be comfortable with that level of physicality and the expectations of your national team, and you still produce relative to being so young, I think it’s really encouraging.”

We have more from the Northwest Division:

It’s generally assumed that if the Trail Blazers trade Damian Lillard, he’ll wind up with the Heat. Yossi Gozlan of HoopsHype takes a look at some potential alternatives, including the Pelicans, Jazz, Raptors and Magic, noting that each club has a variety of assets that could satisfy the Blazers.
Kroenke Sports & Entertainment, the parent company of the Nuggets, announced Monday it is exploring potential renovations to Ball Arena, Bennett Durando of the Denver Post reports. KSE is conducting “market due diligence to evaluate opportunities to enhance the fan experience,” according to a statement. The company is sending out a survey, seeking fan feedback to help determine the future of the arena.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 27 points as Canada routed Latvia in World Cup action on Tuesday. The Thunder star scored 16 of his points in the third quarter. “I didn’t start the game the way I needed to, the way the team needed me to,” he told The Canadian Press. “Just with my energy level, my activeness on both ends of the floor. I looked in the mirror and tried to be better from that point on. Tried to make that my focus, to be better every possession for my team. If I do that, it would set the tone and the tide would turn.”

Western Notes: Kings, Brooks, Jones, Lillard, Timberwolves

August 28th, 2023 at 5:32pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Kings decided to tweak the roster rather than make major changes this offseason after finally reaching the postseason in the spring. They acquired Chris Duarte in a trade and re-signed Harrison Barnes and Trey Lyles. They also signed EuroLeague star Sasha Vezenkov.

Kings coach Mike Brown is excited to have his core group back and is eager to see how they respond to the newfound respect they’ve gained after snapping the franchise’s long playoff drought.

“I’m looking forward to seeing how we can handle the pressure,” the Kings coach said. “It’s flipped now. We’re no longer hunting people; people are hunting us. And there are expectations, so how do we handle that? I believe our guys are ready for it, and with the fans that we have here and the juice they brought last year – let’s go. Let’s get it. I’m excited for Sasha, I’m excited for Chris Duarte, I’m excited about our young guys. It’s good to have the new guys, but I’m more excited about having our guys to be able to run it back and give them the opportunity to grow as a nucleus than anything else.”

We have more from the Western Conference:

The Grizzlies allowed Dillon Brooks in free agency and traded Tyus Jones. So what have they lost? Damichael Cole of the Memphis Commercial Appeal explores that topic. The Grizzlies have become known for their flashy style and trash talking and Brooks was a major reason for that. Jones was a locker room leader and led the league in assist-to-turnover ratio in each of his four seasons with the club.
Trail Blazers fans want the Damian Lillard saga to be resolved soon. In a poll conducted by Jason Quick of The Athletic, 80.4% want the front office to take the best offer for their longtime All-Star and prioritize the team ahead of Lillard. However, the high-scoring guard was voted as the franchise’s greatest player (51.9%), ahead of Clyde Drexler and Bill Walton.
Anthony Edwards (United States), Karl-Anthony Towns (Dominican Republic), Rudy Gobert (France), Kyle Anderson (China), Nickeil Alexander-Walker (Canada) and draft-and-stash prospect Matteo Spagnolo (Italy) are participating in the World Cup, while Luka Garza played for Bosnia and Herzegovina in a pre-qualifying Olympic tournament. That should give those Timberwolves players a head start to the NBA season, according to Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic. Alexander-Walker agrees with the notion. “I want to use it to propel me for the season,” he said.

Drew Eubanks Talks Suns, Lillard, Beal, Durant, Booker

August 27th, 2023 at 3:58pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

After drawing interest from several playoff hopefuls in free agency this summer, Suns center Drew Eubanks decided to ink a two-year, minimum-salary deal with Phoenix in the hopes of winning his first NBA title. The agreement features a player option for the 2024/25 season.

The 6’9″ big man recently sat down with Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic for an extensive interview.

“It was kind of a no-brainer to go with Phoenix when the time came,” Eubanks said. “They’ve been high on me really since I had a pre-draft workout with them back in the day and they’ve always kept in touch with my agent [James Dunleavy of Excel Sports Management] throughout my career.”

Across 78 contests with the Trail Blazers in 2022/23, Eubanks averaged 6.6 PPG (on .641/.389/.664 shooting), 5.4 RPG, 1.3 APG, and 0.5 SPG off the bench.

The conversation is well worth checking out in full, but here are some highlights:

On his free agency this past summer:

“I had interest from other teams along the same lines of what Phoenix was offering, but a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. I had an offer from Phoenix right out the gate. They were very high on me. My agent was saying they had the most interest out of anybody. Being able to go play for a contender and to play with guys like [Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal], I just couldn’t turn that down. That’s kind of how I got there.

“I got a little taste of what it’s like playing with a superstar with [former Trail Blazers teammate Damian Lillard]. I feel like every step in my career so far has prepared me for the next. I’m looking forward to the challenge in Phoenix and bringing some of what I learned playing alongside Dame last year and doing that with KD, Book and Beal.”

On what he learned playing alongside Lillard:

“If I had business cards I had to hand out everybody of the one, two or three things I excel at that, it’d be hustling, blocking shots and setting screens – and finishing at the rim. With Dame, you’ve got to respect him as soon as he comes off a screen. My screens are so effective with Dame, he would come off and be able to shoot wide open 3s. When my guy would step up and try to take his 3 away, they might do a hard double team on Dame, I just flip out of it, get in the pocket. He’s a great passer. He’d hit me and then you just go play four on three on the back end. There was a lot of that last year where I never really played with such a dynamic guard coming off a screen where I just got rep and rep of attacking mismatches and having numbers downhill. I’m a great screen setter.”

On how he can help the three star perimeter players on Phoenix:

“I’ll be able to get Book wide open 3s, I’ll be able to get KD wide open 3s, Beal, all those guys and they want to double one of them, that’s fine. They can kick it to me, I’ll drive, I’ll find the shooter in the corner, find the shooter at the wing or I’ll go finish at the rim. There was a lot of that last year that [Portland center Jusuf Nurkic] did well. He was really good at that in years past and last year, too. So I got to learn a lot from him in that regard. Just being able to play off those guys and let them to do their thing and try to make their job as easy as possible.”

Heat Notes: Jovic, World Cup, Lillard, Giannis

August 26th, 2023 at 5:24pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Heat have been counting on a productive summer from Nikola Jovic after back issues disrupted his rookie season, writes Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel. The 27th pick in the 2022 draft displayed flashes of talent, but physical concerns limited him to 15 games, plus seven short appearances in the playoffs.

Coach Eric Spoelstra said the organization put Jovic on a rehab and weight-training program to get him ready for the offseason. He was impressive during Summer League and now is one of the leaders of Serbia’s World Cup team.

“This is exactly the type of summer and offseason that he needed, to be able to play, to be able to participate in all of our Summer League practices and play in those Summer League games against high-level competition,” Spoelstra said. “And we didn’t know necessarily how the Serbian team would shake out. And it’s turned out to be marvelous for him.”

The absence of Nikola Jokic and Vasilije Micic, along with an injury to Filip Petrusev, means Serbia will need more production from Jovic, who scored nine points in 24 minutes in Saturday’s win over China. The Serbians are playing in Manila, which puts Jovic close to Spoelstra, an assistant coach with Team USA.

“He’s getting a great opportunity,” Spoelstra said. “They had about a two-and-half-, three-week training camp, with the exhibition games included. He’s been able to play in all of those games. We were able to send our staff out and see a week of his training camp. And we’re in the same place right now. He’s only about five, 10 miles away — with traffic that could end up being about 45 minutes. But we are definitely getting together while we’re out here.”

There’s more on the Heat:

The World Cup experience gives Spoelstra a chance to connect with some of the NBA’s best young players, Winderman points out in a separate story. There have been plenty of cases where relationships built in international competitions spilled over to the NBA, with the Heat benefiting from the most famous example of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, who played together in the 2008 Olympics.
If Damian Lillard isn’t dealt to Miami before training camp starts, the Trail Blazers could turn into a “circus” with the young backcourt of Scoot Henderson and Anfernee Simons uncertain of what their roles will be, Winderman states in a mailbag column. He also suggests that the Heat may be better than expected without a Lillard trade, as Tyler Herro will enter camp fully healthy and will be joined by free agent additions Josh Richardson and Thomas Bryant, rookie Jaime Jaquez and a better version of Jovic.
As the Lillard standoff continues, the Heat may be preparing for another waiting game involving Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo, Winderman writes in another piece. In a recent interview, Antetokounmpo said he’ll wait until next summer to decide on an extension and wouldn’t commit to a long-term future in Milwaukee.