NBA Trade Rumors: Miami Heat insider predicts when we could see a Damian Lillard trade come to fruition.
Practically two months in. That’s how long it’s been since Damian Lillard demanded a trade to the Miami Heat. Yet, nothing has come to fruition. And there haven’t even been serious talks, much less traction, on a potential Lillard trade. Nevertheless, there’s a chance that could change over the course of the next few weeks.
If the Blazers are serious about trading Lillard (which, in fairness, we have no guarantee that they are), they kind of have to work quickly. Training camps are on the horizon, and the Blazers don’t have much time to figure out a Lillard deal.
With the clock winding down, there’s a new potential date to keep in mind when it comes to a potential trade of Lillard.
On Five Reasons Sports’ Starting Five, Heat insider Ethan Skolnick suggested that the date to watch concerning the possibility of trade talks picking up between the Heat and Blazers is September 15. As Skolnick notes, that’s the date when things start to become real for both teams.
That’s roughly two weeks before the start of training camps and when the Blazers have to move forward with a decision – whether to trade Lillard before the season or take him into training camp. While they may say they’re open to it, I’m not sure it would be the best of decisions.
Why that timeline for a Damian Lillard trade makes sense
Objectively, if Lillard is going to be traded before the season, I think that’s a pretty fair timeline. As Skolnick notes, that’s when we could see the Blazers engage the Heat on a potential deal. That could be perhaps the time Portland makes a real effort to see if they could come to an agreement with Miami before they move on and explore other potential options.
That’s also the point where we could see if there are any other teams interested in going all-in for Lillard. It’s hard now, with more than a month before the start of the season. There’s no urgency and no rush. However, that will begin to change over the course of the next few weeks.
The big question is whether or not this potential trade will ever come to fruition. We know that Lillard wants to be in Miami and the Heat have been the most aggressive in their pursuit of Lillard thus far. However, that can change in an instant.