(Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
After the Portland Trail Blazers decided to pick guard Scoot Henderson with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, it was a signal to superstar guard Damian Lillard that his time with the franchise was done, as the team had gone younger and essentially drafted his replacement.
With Lillard convinced the team doesn’t want to win now, he told the franchise that he wanted to be traded after over a decade of loyalty to the team.
Not long after the trade request came from Lillard, he let it be known that he only wants to play for the Miami Heat to join forces with Jimmy Butler and close friend Bam Adebayo.
That makes a trade a bit more complicated for the Blazers, but the front office refused to leave their options to one team and vowed to explore the market.
At this point, there’s no telling where Lillard might end up, but Miami remains a viable option, with Heat insider Greg Sylvander predicting what the trade haul would be for the Blazers, and it is massive, to say the least via NBA Central.
Heat insider @GregSylvander predicts what a final trade package for Damian Lillard would look like:
Tyler Herro
Duncan Robinson
Nikola Jovic
First-round pick
First-round pick
First-round pick
First-round pick
First-round pick swap
First-round pick swap
First-round pick… pic.twitter.com/rZG8Lo8Jkn
— NBACentral (@TheNBACentral) July 16, 2023
With the Blazers not really in win-now mode, this might be an ideal deal for them, as the first-round picks alone will help build around Henderson for the foreseeable future.
However, it is uncertain what the team values at this point in time and whether they want Tyler Herro, who is the best player the Heat can offer while keeping their dynamic duo intact.
It’ll be interesting to see how things pan out in this Lillard trade saga and what the final trade package ends up being.
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