Damian Lillard reportedly prefers to be traded to the Miami Heat, but the Portland Trail Blazers are rumored to have no interest in getting this player in any return.
Just when you thought the trade market in the NBA settled after Bradley Beal was dealt to the Phoenix Suns, there was a big name that wants off their current team. Damian Lillard informed the Portland Trail Blazers that he wants to play elsewhere, putting the team in a difficult position of trying to get the most value possible for him.
The thing is, Lillard has a preferred team he wants to be traded to — the Miami Heat. The issue is, they don't exactly have the most valuable pieces to make an attractive trade package in a two-team trade.
As it turns out, the Trail Blazers have no desire to bring in one Heat player in particular.
Making an appearance on ESPN's SportsCenter on July 4, the network's senior NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski revealed that the Trail Blazers have no desire to acquire Tyler Herro from the Heat in a potential Lillard trade. The reason behind this is due to the young guard they have on the team currently, per Wojnarowski.
NBA rumors: Trail Blazers don't want Tyler Herro in potential Damian Lillard trade with Heat
The Trail Blazers' not wanting Herro isn't necessarily news, as Yahoo Sports' Jake Fischer reported on July 1 that the Trail Blazers would look for a third team to take on Herro if they were to agree to a trade with the Heat.
In recent days, Wojnarowski reported that Portland was "open for business everywhere in the league" and want to get the best return package from an interested team. That, and they won't necessarily cooperate with Lillard's request to move him to the Heat.
The Trail Blazers do have a young corps of guards with Aferenee Simons, Shaedon Sharpe, and 2023 third-overall pick Scoot Henderson. They would certainly get extended playing time if Lillard were to get dealt elsewhere.
Herro is coming off of a 2022-23 season in which he averaged 20.1 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 4.2 assists while posting a 43.9 field goal percentage and a 37.8 three-point percentage. Herro suffered a broken right hand in the team's first-round playoff series against the Milwaukee Bucks. While he was listed as active for Game 5 of the NBA Finals against the Denver Nuggets, the Heat didn't play him at all.
Based on the latest reporting, if the Trail Blazers were to trade away Lillard, they want no part of Herro and would look to send him elsewhere.