The Miami Heat need help, that much is clear. They need another star on their roster. Miami’s focus is now on Trail Blazers point guard Damian Lillard. They are taking a huge risk.
The Miami Heat Are Taking A Huge Gamble On Damian Lillard
Help Needed
It was clear after the NBA Finals that the Miami Heat needed help. They need another star. Another star player could be the missing piece. They didn’t end up getting one last offseason, with Donovan Mitchell, who the Heat were reportedly majorly interested in, getting traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Miami pretty much ended up running it back, albeit with a few minor changes. After getting the 1 seed in the Eastern Conference a year ago with almost the exact same roster, the Heat were plagued by injuries and inconsistency and ended up as the 8 seed. Of course, they made that improbable run to the NBA Finals, but that doesn’t change the fact that they need help.
Blown Chance For Beal
Immediately the Heat were rumored to be potential landing sites for two star guards: Damian Lillard and Bradley Beal. On Sunday afternoon the Washington Wizards traded Beal to the Phoenix Suns. The Suns didn’t give up that much to give him, leaving Heat fans with questions as to why Miami couldn’t make a similar offer. In fact, Barry Jackson tweeted that Beal would’ve preferred the Heat. But the Wizards like Phoenix’s offer more.
Now it is understandable why the Heat were apparently hesitant to do a trade for Beal. He has a massive contract, and salary stuff gets trickier starting next summer. But it is a huge gamble.
Their Focus Is On Lillard
Miami’s focus is Portland superstar Damian Lillard with the genuine belief this could be the offseason the veteran guard seeks a change of scenery, league sources tell @NBAonTNT, @BleacherReport.
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) June 18, 2023
Pat Riley and company are really rolling the dice in this direction. While Damian Lillard did say on a podcast recently that if he were to ask to be traded then he would want to go to Miami, that’s a big if. Lillard has all the leverage in this situation.
Lillard is obviously aware Heat wants him. He also knows that he can implore/guilt-trip Blazers to trade him only to Miami instead of Nets (who have 11 first-rounders to trade). Will be fascinating next 2 weeks. If Lillard opts to stay, the orca search will continue indefinitely.
— Barry Jackson (@flasportsbuzz) June 18, 2023
That is why this is such a huge gamble. Lillard has not asked out yet, and might not do so at all. If he does ask out and the Heat can get him then it’s a huge win for the franchise. Dame would give the team exactly what they need: another superstar to pair with Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo, and their other younger players. But if the Trail Blazers are able to improve their team enough and convince Lillard to stay in Portland, then the Heat would be in an incredibly difficult position. At that point, they would be stuck. No clearly immediately available stars on the trade market.
Starting next offseason they will no longer be able to aggregate salaries, which will make big trades much harder. The time for the Heat to make a big move is right now. Pat Riley once said that he is looking for orcas, not whales. But if he doesn’t land Damian Lillard, then where are they going to find an orca?
