Grade the trades: 3-team ideas to get Damian Lillard from Blazers to Heat

Three-team trade No. 2: Lillard to the Heat, Herro to the Brooklyn Nets

This is a respectably fair trade for all three teams.

Again, the Heat get their man in Lillard, but in this deal, Portland also sends Jusuf Nurkic to Miami to get the remainder of the big man’s salary off the books.

The Nets get Herro which, as of July 4, seems to be the most likely landing spot for the Heat guard – so much so that even he appears ready to head to Brooklyn.

And the Blazers, rather than getting the handful of contracts from Toronto, get two massive expiring contracts in Kyle Lowry and Spencer Dinwiddie to go along with all of Miami’s available first-round picks, as well as Jaquez Jr. and Jovic.

This isn’t a trade full of desirable picks and prospects heading to Portland, but the Blazers get the same package of assets from Miami as they do in the Raptors deal, plus they offload a ton of salary. Lowry’s and Dinwiddie’s contracts will clear about $50 million of salary after next season, in addition to the three years and more than $54 million still owed to Nurkic.

If Dame really is going to land in Miami and the Blazers refuse to take Herro in return, this might be the best Portland can do. It adds future picks and two potentially useful prospects to add to the core of Henderson, Simons, and Sharpe, and it rids the franchise of about $100 million in future salary after next season.

It appears the only way Lillard ends up playing for the Heat is if a third team gets involved in a trade. It would be a smarter move for Portland – albeit a cold one – if general manager Joe Cronin ignores Miami’s package entirely and trades Dame elsewhere for a much more enticing return that the Heat simply can’t offer.

But if the decision is to help Dame reach his preferred destination, this Brooklyn trade might be the way to go for the Blazers.