NBA
Report: The Trail Blazers told the Miami Heat to ‘make your best offer to us’ for Damian Lillard
Zach Wolpin is an NBA and NFL expert who's been betting on the league for over three years now. Wolpin has been a fan of the NBA and has been watching for a decade and a half. He covers the latest news and stories surrounding the league daily. His passion in life is watching sports and being able to share that through his sports writing. He has written about the NBA and other sports leagues through various media outlets over the years like Sir Charles In Charge, G-Men HQ, and TAP into South Plainfield. Before he became an NBA News Writer, Wolpin attended Montclair State University where he graduated in 2021. He studied Sports Media and Writing while in school.
All posts by Zach WolpinUpdated19 Jul 2023
This offseason, the biggest headline for the NBA has been Damian Lillard and his future. After the July 1 free agency start, Lillard requested a trade from the Portland Trail Blazers. It’s no secret that the veteran PG wants to play for the Miami Heat. The two parties are at a stalemate in negotiations, but one league source did have news to break. Shams Charania reported that the Blazers told the Heat to “make your best offer to us” for Damian Lillard.
While this report may suggest a trade happening soon, that may not be the case. Portland’s GM Joe Cronin has been vocal that he is willing to wait and see what happens. The Blazers are in no rush to make a trade without getting the best possible return for Lillard.
Miami and Portland have stayed in touch, but there’s been no real traction on trade discussions. The Trail Blazers don’t want to continue playing games and want to know Miami’s best offer.
“I’m told Portland has told Miami this: Make your best offer to us.”
(Via @TheRally ) pic.twitter.com/unXcxucuQF
— NBACentral (@TheNBACentral) July 18, 2023
The Trail Blazers are not in a rush to trade Damian Lillard with training camp two months away
This offseason, Damian Lillard has made his intentions clear that he wants to be traded to the Miami Heat. He played in Portland for 11 seasons and was extremely loyal to the franchise. It’s hard to stay with a team that long when there’s no real postseason success.
Miami has been on the opposite end of that. They’ve made the NBA Finals in two of the last four postseasons. Sadly, they lost both Finals appearances and cannot get over the hump. Adding an All-NBA talent like Damian Lillard could help bring Miami back to their championship ways.
The one negative that has worked against him this season is not having a no-trade clause. That means that Lillard could be traded to any of the other 29 teams this offseason. His preferred destination is the Heat, but Portland is not required to send him there. We’ll have to wait and see where the eight-time all-star plays in 2023-24.
