Sports
Damian Lillard Trade Rumors: Heat 'Most Motivated' but MIA Won't 'Bid Against Itself' – Bleacher Report
As slow as things may be going between the two sides, the Miami Heat are still the leaders in the clubhouse to land a trade for Damian Lillard from the Portland Trail Blazers.
Miami remains the only team to make an official offer for the seven-time All-Star since his trade request back on July 1. And while it doesn’t seem that Portland is too content with the current package, the Heat is not willing to start bidding against itself to get the deal done, according to a report by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowksi on NBA Today.
“Certainly, Miami remains the team most motivated, that has enough assets to eventually perhaps outbid the market,” Wojnarowski said. “The problem is Portland looks at what Miami has, doesn’t love it, and keeps hoping something better is going to come along.
“… Miami’s not going to bid against itself and keep upping it’s offer when it doesn’t think Portland necessarily has anything comparable. That’s why it’s dragging out and why it may continue to drag out. …Right now, there’s just not been a lot of engagement among teams on a Lillard trade.”
Shams Charania of The Rally provided an update on a potential offer coming from the Heat:
On <a href="https://twitter.com/TheRally?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TheRally</a>, the latest surrounding Damian Lillard and the potential offer the Miami Heat have been preparing with 3-to-4 first-round picks: <a href="https://t.co/GjyaYOOEbF">pic.twitter.com/GjyaYOOEbF</a>
Miami sent its first offer for Lillard earlier this month that centered around around former Sixth Man of the Year Tyler Herro, three first-rounders, some salary filler and a young player, according to Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian.
It’s been reported for much of the process that a straight up deal between the two teams isn’t likely as Portland isn’t too high on adding Herro to its young core of Scoot Henderson, Shaedon Sharpe and Anfernee Simons.
However, there hasn’t been much traction between the two sides since then and the Heat has grown frustrated with Trail Blazers’ general manager Joe Cronin and his lack of negotiations, according to Bleacher Report’s Chris Haynes.
“Portland is telling them to bring them their best offer. Miami would like to know, what does Portland want, and Miami is not getting that answer,” Haynes said on a recent episode of the “#thisleague UNCUT” podcast. “So they think things would be moving a little bit quicker if Portland was saying exactly what it is they want.
“…So far, the communication is just not there. So that’s making this situation rather frustrating on this side for Miami.”
Multiple teams are reportedly interested in acquiring Herro in exchange for a first-round pick, potentially giving Miami the type of draft capital necessary to acquire Lillard. It’s recently been reported that Portland wants a package of four first-round picks and two quality players.
As for the lack of bidders outside of Miami, Wojanarowski said that has less to do with the threat of Lillard being unhappy with not being sent to his preferred destination and more with his contract situation.
Lillard, 33, still has four-years and over $175 million remaining on his current deal that would pay him $58.5 million and $63.2 million in 2024 and 2025, respectively. At that point he’d be entering his age 35 and 36 seasons, which has scared some teams off from joining the sweepstakes.
Wojnarowski also said that the next major deadline to look out for in the process is the start of training camp in late September.
