The Miami Heat have a key interest they hold for in a potential trade for Portland Trail Blazers superstar guard Damian Lillard. Via The Athletic's Sam Amick:

“The Heat already said goodbye to Gabe Vincent (the Lakers) and Max Strus (Cleveland) in free agency after their Finals run, meaning the idea of losing key contributors like Caleb Martin, or young talents like Nikola Jovic and Jaime Jaquez Jr. would only limit their title-contending prospects,” Amick wrote.

“That's where the slow pace of the Heat-Blazers talks has made it even harder to reach a deal point.”

Lillard requested a trade from Portland this month and reportedly only wants to be with the Heat. Miami made the NBA Finals this past season and would greatly benefit from Lillard, who last season averaged a career-best 32.3 points per game.

The Heat do not want to part with stars Jimmy Butler or Bam Adebayo, and if they are reluctant to include some of their young assets, it makes sense why a deal is yet to get done to this point.

Portland chose to keep its No. 3 pick in this year's NBA Draft. It selected Scoot Henderson, a guard who has elite twitch and can bring excitement to the future of Trail Blazers basketball.

But his selection seemed to alienate Lillard, who is 32 years old and looking to compete for deep playoff runs and ultimately a championship. Amick said the Heat have missed out on adding more free agents due to their interest in Lillard.

“In light of that, there's even greater interest in retaining as many role players as possible,” Amick said. “As has been widely reported, a Heat deal would likely include Tyler Herro (who would likely go to a third team) and Duncan Robinson.”