1 Dream, 1 Nightmare, 1 Realistic Blazers Damian Lillard trade after draft

Nightmare Damian Lillard trade for Trail Blazers

The links between Lillard and the Miami Heat are becoming impossible to ignore and, somehow, Miami always finds a way to acquire a superstar for 75 cents on the dollar.

As Dame named the Heat as one of his preferred trade destinations, the Portland organization may feel like it owes it to him to find a way to get him someplace he can win a title. This deal works great on those two fronts – what it doesn’t work great for is the Blazers’ future.

Lowry is an expiring contract in the deal to make salaries work. Martin played well during the 2023 playoffs but is an average NBA starter. Jovic played sparingly as a rookie. And grabbing any picks from a Miami franchise that is consistently competitive – especially two swaps – doesn’t do much to help down the line.

It does, however, give Dame a legitimate shot to win that elusive NBA title. He’d be joining a team still with Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo, plus the Heat would avoid giving up Tyler Herro, which was the team’s goal when it was involved in the Bradley Beal sweepstakes.

Even if Cronin can pry Herro away, that still wouldn’t make this a win for Portland.

The only upside here is the fact that Blazers fans would get to watch Lillard compete at the highest level with a chance to win the championship he deserves.