As the 2023 NBA Draft gets closer, a Portland Trail Blazers trade at the top of the draft seems more and more likely. The team has the No. 3 pick, and indications are the franchise’s preferred move is to deal that selection to get another star to pair with Damian Lillard. If that’s the case, Miami Heat big man Bam Adebayo is at the top of the Blazers’ wish list. The deal is a longshot, but if Portland has any chance of making this happen, they must put together a Godfather offer that includes players and multiple Blazers' picks.

A Blazers trade offer for Bam Adebayo starts with the No. 3 pick and goes from there

After stunningly making the NBA Finals as a play-in team, the Heat aren’t in a rush to trade one of their two best players, Bam Adebayo.

Still, Pat Riley is always tinkering, and the team’s 3-1 loss to the Denver Nuggets may have the Heat president thinking that the team isn’t truly championship material as currently constituted.

On the other side of this potential Blazers trade, Portland is stubbornly clinging to Damian Lillard, hoping that adding a complementary veteran star can finally help the soon-to-be 33-year-old guard get over the hump.

With Miami possibly contemplating a shake-up and Portland swinging for the fences, the Blazers have one chance to knock the Heat’s socks off with a massive trade offer.

In order to get a deal done, the Blazers must offer second-year guard Shaedon Sharpe, 24-year-old guard Anfernee Simons, the No. 3 overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, and a future pick.

This is a big package and a complicated deal for the Blazers and Heat. First, Portland must give up Sharpe, who had a solid rookie season off the bench and seems like he’s an NBA starter for sure, and potentially a star. Simons is also a valuable commodity, as he averaged a career-high 21.2 points in 2022-23.

Those two players would match Adebayo’s salary. After that, the Blazers' draft pick at No. 3 is probably Scoot Henderson, unless the Charlotte Hornets trade out of No. 2. In that case, it's Alabama forward Brandon Miller, who is also a potential All-Star level prospect.

Complicating matters is the fact that the Chicago Bulls own the Blazers’ 2024 first-round pick. The reason that is a problem is that the pick is top-14 protected until 2028. So, Portland would have to make a deal with Chicago to remove the protections and give them a pick flat out, or the team can’t trade any future first-round pick between now and 2028 until that pick is settled.

Other than all that, who says no?

Well, the crux of this deal relies on the Heat wanting to make a major change following their NBA Finals loss. Adebayo is about to turn 26 on July 18 and is one of the best two-way bigs in the NBA right now. Trading him would mean reorienting the entire team around a guard-heavy lineup of Scoot Henderson, Shaedon Sharpe, and Anfernee Simons alongside Jimmy Butler.

This move turns the Heat from a grinding defensive team into a high-flying offensive one that should still have solid defensive principles with coach Eric Spoelstra at the helm. Still, the team would have to figure out what to do for rim protection in this Bam Adebayo trade scenario.

As for the Blazers side of the trade, the team would have Lillard and Adebayo, which is a (regular season) winning combination in the Western Conference. But is it a team that can make a deep playoff run?

Giving up Sharpe and Simons hurts the team from a supporting cast perspective. However, the Blazers do have quite a bit of flexibility this offseason. Players like Jerami Grant, Cam Reddish, Justice Winslow, and Matisse Thybulle are free agents. The team can re-sign the majority of these players and run it back, or let all (or most) of them go, make a minor trade or two, and then be real players on the NBA free agent market.

This Blazers trade is a longshot, but it is the only offer that would even make the Heat think twice about giving up Bam Adebayo.

Taking Scoot Henderson with the current Blazers draft pick and trading Lillard to quick-start a much-needed rebuild is a better idea. But it seems like Portland is stubbornly sticking to its longtime star and desperately trying to build a contender around him.

All that said, if this is the route the Blazers want to go, Adebayo is probably the best fit among all the All-Star players who may be available ahead of the 2023 NBA Draft on Thursday, June 22.