NBA Trade Rumors: 3 Ways Heat can keep Tyler Herro out of Lillard package

Trade offer No. 2: OKC removes pick protections for Heat

If the two-team trade isn’t enough compensation for the Portland Trail Blazers, there is another way the Miami Heat could create more of a return in a potential deal for Damian Lillard without adding Tyler Herro to the package. But that would require the entrance of a third team. In this hypothetical idea, that would be the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Thunder could be key as they could remove some protections from a 2025 first-round pick that they own from the Heat. In this scenario, they would get an unprotected 2026 first-round pick for Miami, opening up the 2024 first-round pick for the Heat to trade.

Miami would get Lillard and send Caleb Martin to the Thunder to get them to remove protections from a pick they own from the Heat. As the Thunder looks to take a step forward this season, Martin could work as a veteran with experience to help get this team over the Play-In Tournament hump in the Western Conference.

The Blazers would get a much better deal than the previous offer, this time highlighted by three future first-round picks (2024, 2028, and 2030) and two pick swaps. Portland would also get Kyle Lowry, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Nikola Jovic, Haywood Highsmith, and Kenrich Williams (from OKC).

This would be a strong package for Portland and the key would be to get OKC to play along.