For weeks, reports have indicated that the Miami Heat were going to stay out of going star hunting on the trade market in the event that Damian Lillard decided he wanted to leave the Portland Trail Blazers. That ended up being a wise decision, because on Saturday afternoon, Lillard informed the Blazers that he would like a trade. To take things even one step further, reports indicate that Lillard has explicitly said to the team that he’d prefer a move to Miami.
There are some pretty clear issues the Heat will need to overcome, namely that Portland is under no obligation to send them Lillard. But no matter what, two of the three necessary parties here want him in Miami, and according to Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report, the Heat already have some semblance of what they want to offer to acquire his services.
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.
Portland could try to include Jusuf Nurkić in a deal, sources say.
There’s been reporting that says Portland is going to look for the best deal no matter where it comes from, and Haynes mentioned earlier in the day that a swap involving the Heat would likely require a third team.
