4 teams that are salivating over a Damian Lillard trade request

The Miami Heat want to trade for Damian Lillard

The Miami Heat technically can’t say publicly that they want to trade for another player under contract, but it’s the worst kept “secret” in the league that Pat Riley and company are preparing an offer for Lillard the second he makes a trade request.

The Heat love to go big-game hunting on the trade and free-agent markets, and Lillard would represent their biggest coup since trading for Jimmy Butler; arguably going back even further to that fateful summer of 2010.

Dame’s shooting and playmaking would be an amazing fit on a team with Butler and Bam Adebayo.

The Heat don’t have a ton of excess draft capital to put into a deal, but they would push it all in alongside a package built around Tyler Herro. They can’t offer the most alluring package, but their trump card is that Lillard seems to want to play in Miami. How much will he try to leverage Portland to trade him to his preferred destination?

Miami made it to the NBA Finals with a collection of past-their-prime veterans and undrafted free agents filling in the gaps around Butler and Adebayo. Now, they have a pathway to building a Big 3 in South Beach for the first time since…well, you know. That’s a scary proposition for the rest of the Eastern Conference.