NBA Rumors: Damian Lillard continues to push for move to Miami Heat
Damian Lillard reportedly requested a trade from the Portland Trail Blazers earlier this month, naming the Miami Heat as his preferred destination.
With his trade request entering its fourth week, there has been little to no progress regarding where the superstar guard will play next. The Blazers aim to receive the best package in return, but it may take long before the two sides reach an agreement to send Lillard to Florida.
According to Marc J. Spears of ESPN, Damian Lillard hasn't changed his mind and continues to push for a move to the Miami Heat.
Damian Lillard is not budging off his stance of only wanting a trade to Miami, per @MarcJSpears pic.twitter.com/89Gxu3iIPm
The Heat view Damian Lillard as the missing piece on a team that has played in the NBA Finals twice over the past four years. Miami will look to pair him with Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo to create a dominant Big Three.
Miami Heat frustrated over little progress in Damian Lillard trade talks
With little progress between the two parties and Portland unwilling to acquire Tyler Herro as part of the deal, the Heat have reportedly grown “frustrated” over the pace at which the trade talks are occurring.
NBA insider Chris Haynes revealed this on Friday during the latest episode of his podcast, "This League Uncut."
"Portland is telling them to, ‘Bring us your best offer.’ Miami would like to know what Portland wants, and Miami is not getting that answer," Haynes said.
"They feel like things could be moving on a little bit quicker if Portland would say exactly what it is they want because, obviously, Miami doesn’t have all the assets that Portland would want in return for a Damian Lillard trade.
"So they want to know, ‘OK, what do we have to get out there? What other teams do we have to get involved to make this work?’ And so far, the communication is just not there."
Similarly, Blazers general manager Joe Cronin made it clear that he is in no rush to complete a deal for Lillard, saying at an NBA Summer League news press conference that if "it takes months, it takes months."
"We're going to be patient," Cronin said. "We're going to do what's best for our team. We're going to see, you know, how this lands. What the rest of his career looks like matters to us, and we care about that.
"At the same time, we have to do what's best for us, and we've got to find the right deal and find the right makeup of the team that we're going to go forward with.
"So you hope that you can find that perfect situation where that lines up, and he goes to a place that he wants to, and you get the best return possible. It's complicated, and usually, it doesn't work out just like that."
The Blazers are reportedly asking for "four first-round picks and two quality players" in return. Thus it could make sense that both sides search for a third team to complete the deal.
With Damian Lillard focusing only on a move to the Heat, both sides are hoping to avoid taking these discussions into training camp and even the start of the regular season in October.
Damian Lillard, who has four years and $216 million left on his deal with a $63.2 million player option for the 2026-27 season, averaged 32.2 points, 4.8 rebounds and 7.3 assists in 58 games, with the Blazers missing the playoffs for a second straight season.