Mar 19, 2023; Portland, Oregon, USA; Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard (0) participates in warmups before playing LA Clippers at Moda Center. Mandatory Credit: Jaime Valdez-USA TODAY Sports
The Miami Heat are viewed as the favorite to land Damian Lillard in a trade simply because they are the star point guard’s top choice, but it does not sound like much progress has been made toward a deal.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski said on “SportsCenter” Tuesday that the Portland Trail Blazers are “not impressed” with what the Heat have offered them for Lillard. One of the issues is that the Blazers have no interest in Tyler Herro, whose $120 million contract would likely have to be included in any trade for Lillard.
In order to make an enticing offer for Lillard, the Heat may need to get at least a third team involved. Wojnarowski says the Blazers are currently focused on seeing what they can get from teams other than Miami.
The Trail Blazers are “not impressed” with the Heat’s trade offer for Damian Lillard, which could lead to a deal elsewhere now, per @wojespn:
– While Damian Lillard prefers Miami, Portland needs “maximum value” in any trade.
– Miami needs at minimum a third team to take on… pic.twitter.com/lTvmtFUAgV
— Evan Sidery (@esidery) July 4, 2023
“I think for Portland, they’re gonna take their time with this process and start to build out what the best offers would be elsewhere,” Wojnarowski said. “When it comes to Miami, I think the Blazers’ focus is elsewhere on getting maximum value for Lillard.”
Lillard requested a trade last week, but there have been reports that he only wants to play for the Heat. His contract does not include a no-trade clause, which gives him little control over where he ends up. Even if the Blazers want to grant Lillard his wish, they are not going to turn down a much better offer just to send the 32-year-old to Miami.
There may be one other team that Lillard has interest in, but there has been no indication that the interest is mutual.
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