Damian Lillard has finally requested a trade, and the Miami Heat are his preferred destination. Just because the future Hall-of-Famer has made it clear he wants to play in South Beach, though, don't expect Pat Riley and the Heat to make trade negotiations with the Portland Trail Blazers easy.
As Miami builds a trade package for Lillard centered around Tyler Herro, the team hopes to keep Caleb Martin out of the deal, according to Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report.
“The Heat are prepared to offer a package centered around Tyler Herro, with possibly Duncan Robinson and picks, sources say. The Heat would prefer to keep Caleb Martin out of any trade scenarios.”
A longtime personal favorite of Lillard's, Martin broke out during the Heat's underdog run to the NBA Finals, narrowly missing out on winning MVP of the Eastern Conference Finals. The veteran wing averaged 12.7 points and 5.4 rebounds per game on scorching 65.7% true shooting in the playoffs, also playing tough defense at the point of attack.
Martin signed a three-year, $20.4 million contract—including a player option for 2024-25—with Miami last summer, making him one of the league's best bargains. Obviously, a lavishly expensive Heat team featuring Lillard, Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo needs all the quality, cost-controlled role players it can get, especially on the wing.
Portland could insist on including Jusuf Nurkic in a Lillard trade, according to Haynes, which may be the compromise needed for Miami to hang onto Martin. Nurkic has three years and a fully guaranteed $54 million left on his contract, not exactly a financial or on-court fit for the Blazers as they embark on a full-scale rebuild around Scoot Henderson and Shaedon Sharpe.
Even the most star-laden teams don't win titles without a worthwhile supporting cast. That reality in mind, expect the Heat to do everything they can to retain Martin as they work to bring Lillard to South Beach.