With the Washington Wizards trading Bradley Beal to the Phoenix Suns, the Miami Heat hold a “genuine belief” in getting a trade done for Damian Lillard this NBA offseason, per Turner Sports’ Chris Haynes.
There is a rising belief that he may ask out from the Portland Trail Blazers this offseason.
With the Heat having this stance on their outlook for a trade to acquire Lillard, it comes with little surprise that they ultimately didn’t trade for Beal. The Suns gave up Chris Paul, Landry Shamet, several second-round picks, and multiple pick swaps to acquire him.
NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Damian Lillard, Portland Trail Blazers & Miami Heat Updates
There was even recent reporting from NBA insider Marc Stein that suggested a real chance of Lillard requesting a trade from the Blazers if the front office doesn’t use the 3rd overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft in a trade for win-now talent.
“The fear in the nation’s capital is what happens if the Trail Blazers are unable to swing a win-now trade,” Stein wrote. “It is only a presumption at this point, but there is legitimate concern percolating for the Wizards’ new front office headed by Michael Winger that Lillard would finally start pushing the Blazers to trade him if Portland ends up drafting 19-year-old Scoot Henderson or 20-year-old Brandon Miller at No. 3.”
“If that’s how things played out, Miami would surely be at or the near the top of Lillard’s list of preferred destinations — with the Heat said to prefer the idea of acquiring Lillard over Beal if they had the choice,” Stein explained. “Miami, at present, does not have that choice. Only Beal is in play.”
Lillard had his season shut down early for the second consecutive season as the Blazers maximized draft outlook over qualifying for the playoffs. He averaged 32.2 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 7.3 assists per game during his 58 performances.
NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Damian Lillard, Portland Trail Blazers & Miami Heat Updates
The Heat need to add another dynamic perimeter talent to complement Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo. With an elite scorer like Damian Lillard, who has long desired to play with a dribble handoff big like Adebayo, it’s intriguing to think about what they could achieve.
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