You should proceed with caution when interpreting any information from the South Beach media about the Miami Heat’s futile attempt to sign Damian Lillard.
Prominent local reporters consistently asserted they knew of no better trade package for Lillard than the one Miami was offering the Portland Trail Blazers, which made it difficult for them to cover the league’s longest-running offseason narrative objectively. A few even maintained that Portland was conducting trade talks in bad faith, both prior to and following the Milwaukee Bucks’ shocking trade for Damian Lillard right before training camp.
Naturally, Lillard wasn’t the first All-NBA guard to switch teams in the course of his Milwaukee deal. The Bucks traded Jrue Holiday to the Blazers, who promptly traded him back to the Boston Celtics for Malcolm Brogdon, Robert Williams III, a 2024 first-round pick, and the 2029 unprotected first-round pick of the Golden State Warriors.
The fact that Portland and Miami were at odds over Lillard’s trade negotiations is said to have contributed to the teams’ failure to hold meaningful discussions regarding a potential deal for Holiday. The Blazers seem to have lost more ground as a result of the communication breakdown than first thought, though.
The Heat reportedly would’ve been willing to offer Portland more assets for Holiday than they ultimately did for Lillard, according to Ethan Skolnick of 5 Reasons Sports.
“Jrue’s contract is friendlier. He plays defense, which the Heat value; and the Heat don’t believe that Dame does,” Skolnick wrote in a recent chat, per NBA Central.
It doesn’t really matter whether Miami would have offered a larger trade package for Holiday than they did for Lillard. However, Lillard made far more sense as an all-in trade target than Holiday, given that offensive dynamism and firepower were the Heat’s Achilles’ heals during their underdog run to the 2022 NBA Finals and have severely limited the Heat’s team-building prospects around a Big Three of Holiday, Butler and Adebayo.
The real story of even more breadcrumbs about Miami’s interest in Lillard being dropped months after he was acquired by Milwaukee, though? Why the team still feels compelled address the Lillard drama at all
Although Holiday, Jimmy Butler, and Bam Adebayo would lead an absolutely great squad defensively, they would also lack the volume three-point shooting and reliable floor-bending skills that have plagued Miami in the postseason the past few years at the highest levels. When Holiday chooses to opt out of his current contract, he will sign a new one that will not be as large as Lillard’s, but it will still have
Skolnick’s report comes on the heels of another local media member relaying that some league decision-makers would prefer to have standout rookie Jaime Jaquez on their roster over Lillard. Similarly, rumors of the Heat’s supposedly overblown desire to trade for Lillard began popping up right as it became apparent the Blazers were steadfastly against sending him to South Beach. More reports suggesting the same surfaced after Lillard was acquired by the Bucks.
The 11-9 Heat have far more pressing concerns at the moment than the public’s enduring impression of their unsuccessful pursuit of Lillard. Ask Butler.
“After Miami’s loss to the Indiana Pacers on Saturday, we stand where we don’t want to be—which is very mediocre, not good, not bad, not great,” he remarked. “We haven’t had a very good offensive. We haven’t played very well defense.
Maybe the reason the front office is so determined to keep bringing up Lillard in an unpleasant way is to divert attention from his mediocrity and absolve itself of responsibility for not bringing him in. One thing is certain: The Heat will have a greater chance of turning things around as 2023–24 progresses if they don’t look back on a difficult summer