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The Miami Heat aren’t “believed to be offering even close” to their full array of tradable assets in talks with the Portland Trail Blazers for star point guard Damian Lillard, according to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald.
Per that report, “The Heat’s offer to Portland reportedly is built around [Tyler] Herro and two first-round picks (in 2028 and 2030). Such a deal also would need to include a cap-facilitating contract—Kyle Lowry’s or Duncan Robinson’s.”
If that is indeed the extent of Miami’s offer, the Trail Blazers are justified in dragging out this process. The Heat are going to bank on the leverage of Lillard only wanting to join Miami in a trade, giving them little incentive to put all of their chips on the table.
Those chips, as Jackson wrote, are the team’s three future first-round picks they can move, Herro, Nikola Jovic, rookie Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Caleb Martin.
The Trail Blazers almost assuredly would prefer to deal Lillard to a situation he desires. He’s a franchise legend. But Portland also doesn’t want to give him away for pennies on the dollar, and its arguable that Miami’s best offer isn’t all that appealing, let alone what the Heat reportedly have made available to this point.
Jackson’s report comes in the wake of Sportsnet’s Michael Grange reporting that the Toronto Raptors are “very much in the mix” for Lillard and that the Orlando Magic could “make themselves heard” for the veteran point guard.
Both of those teams would have more attractive young players and draft assets they could offer.
The Raptors could build a package around OG Anunoby and future picks. It seems hard to imagine the Magic breaking up a young core to add a 33-year-old looking to win now—that would create two very different timelines between Lillard and the younger supporting cast—but Orlando could offer Portland the sort of package it likely desires.
Then there are teams like the Brooklyn Nets, who could offer a mountain full of future picks and Ben Simmons’ contract to help make the money work. And ESPN’s Marc Spears reported on Monday that the Milwaukee Bucks, Chicago Bulls and Philadelphia 76ers have also held talks with Portland, with the Raptors the frontrunner.
Milwaukee is likely a long shot, given a lack of younger players they could make available, unless they roped in a third team to take Jrue Holiday or Khris Middleton.
The Bulls could build a deal around Zach LaVine, though with young guards in Anfernee Simons, Shaedon Sharpe and Scoot Henderson, Portland may not have much interest in such a package unless a third team got involved.
Ditto for a Sixers offer that included Tyrese Maxey—granted, reporting to this point has suggested Maxey isn’t going anywhere—unless the Sixers could wrap in a third or fourth team and move out James Harden in the process.
So for now, Toronto seems likely to be Miami’s biggest threat. If the Raptors decide to pull the trigger on a package of Anunoby and future first-rounders, it probably won’t matter if Miami puts more of its chips on the table.
Toronto simply has the bigger pile.
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