When will Damian Lillard be traded to the Miami Heat?
This is the question every NBA fan has been asking ever since Lillard requested a trade from the Portland Trail Blazers. There is no telling right now as to when a trade involving the seven-time All-Star will occur. That is, if a trade is to even occur at this point.
The Blazers have made their stance on trading Lillard very clear: they will not be trading him unless they get the return they are looking for.
Despite the hold-up in trade talks and the league's recent warning to Lillard and his agent about firmly requesting a trade to Miami, personnel from around the league still anticipate an agreement being reached before the start of training camp. This gives the Blazers and Heat roughly eight to nine weeks to get a deal done.
But what happens if a trade does not occur and Lillard is not on Miami's roster to begin training camp? Regardless of whether or not the Heat pull off this offseason's biggest move by trading for the Blazers' star point guard, this organization still has a lot of work to do after reaching the Eastern Conference Finals for the third time in four seasons and the NBA Finals two of those times. This past season, Miami made the Finals from the play-in tournament, including after losing their first game and being on the ropes late in the second one. Despite this Cinderella run, there are major questions about the future.
The state of the Heat's roster
This offseason has not been kind to the defending Eastern Conference champions, as Lillard trade talks continue to go nowhere and major holes have opened on the roster. Max Strus and Gabe Vincent both left the Heat in free agency, raising a slight cause for concern of where production will come from outside of Butler and Bam Adebayo.
Veterans Josh Richardson and Kevin Love will be leaned on as key secondary contributors in the backcourt and frontcourt, respectively, and the Heat seemed to find something in Caleb Martin during the playoffs. Martin's positional versatility makes him an intriguing player to earn more consistent minutes, and we cannot forget Duncan Robinson being a sharpshooter who could fill the void Strus leaves behind. Then again, we have to take into account that if the Heat are to trade for Lillard, they will have to sacrifice a lot of value.
As things stand right now, the Heat have 13 players under contract for the upcoming season, all of whom are on guaranteed deals. When evaluating what a trade for Lillard could look like, it is safe to assume Tyler Herro would be on the move somewhere, Kyle Lowry's $29 million expiring contract would be moved, and it is possible either Martin or second-year forward Nikola Jovic could be included.
Heat's options in free agency
No matter what, it is likely that the Heat will be opening up at least one other roster spot should they land Lillard in a trade this offseason. Already a high salary team, the addition of the All-NBA guard would also mean that the Heat would have no cap flexibility and their remaining roster spots would need to be filled by experienced talents willing to take on a minimum-like contract. Austin Rivers, Blake Griffin, Terrence Ross, T.J. Warren and Danny Green are all veteran players who are available and would accept minimum deals to play for a contender like the Heat if they were to trade for Lillard.
Christian Wood also still finds himself available as a free agent late in the offseason. Teams around the league have expressed little interest in pursuing Wood, but the 27-year-old big man has not been too receptive of the idea of spending the 2023-24 season on a minimum contract. Kelly Oubre Jr. is another impactful free agent still available, but it is hard to imagine him taking a minimum deal as well.
The Heat's options for filling out the remainder of their roster are limited. Miami still has roster spots to fill with or without Dame on team, and the absences of both Strus and Vincent leave a chunk of this team's overall offensive production left to be filled. In fact, these two accounted for close to 17 percent of Miami's total scoring output from this past season.
This is a very awkward situation for the Heat to be in right now, especially since the players on their roster know a Lillard trade appears to be on the horizon. Should things fall through and the Heat are unable to acquire the superstar, everything will be tense in this locker room. This doesn't seem like the path things are trending towards, but you never know how trade talks will play out.
If the Heat do form a new Big 3, questions surrounding this team will lie on their bench and where production will come from outside of their All-Stars. If the Heat do not acquire Lillard, the same questions surrounding their depth will be asked. While most teams kick back and enjoy their last few weeks of the summer, the Miami Heaet are going to have to work very hard to figure their roster out, especially if they want to remain title threats in the East.
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