The Heat and Blazers need some help getting a Damian Lillard trade done. Thankfully, the Raptors want to be that third team, per the latest NBA Rumors.
The Toronto Raptors want in on Damian Lillard trade talks.
By no means do they want to acquire Lillard in a Kawhi Leonard reboot. Rather, Toronto is interested in Tyler Herro, and his potential fit alongside its other young stars. Ironically enough, FanSided's Christopher Kline spoke a Raps three-team trade into existence earlier this week in his mock trade proposal.
NBA Rumors: Raptors join Damian Lillard trade talks
This was Kline's trade to the tee. It works in that the Raptors get Herro, the Blazers receive a ton of assets, and the Heat have Lillard and a few role players to fill the gaps. Kline summed up his trade quite well:
"Miami will be in cap hell, but they will have Damian Lillard, Jimmy Butler, and Bam Adebayo under the guidance of Erik Spoelstra. That's the kind of risk Miami should take after getting so close last season. The Blazers don't get any elite assets, but they get plenty of good players and picks. The Raptors get Tyler Herro to run DHOs with Scottie Barnes and up their putrid 3-point numbers."
Sign us up. Lillard and even the NBA media are getting tired of discussing his potential fit on Miami's roster, and coming up with trade packages which may or may not work financially. The deal above, for what it's worth, definitely works.
Inserting a third team into the trade chatter could make it easier for the Heat and Blazers to add assets into said deal, and even out the financial constraints, considering Dame's contract is enormous.
Toronto has held firm thus far in conversations with the Heat — if they want to acquire Lillard, they must pay the asking price. No more, and no less.
