Q: Kelly Oubre is signing with the Sixers; the Heat are on hold waiting for Damian Lillard. If they don’t make a deal for him, any chance of adding a contributing player will be gone. At some point if they can’t make a deal they have to find another way to improve the roster. – Joel.
A: If the Heat don’t land Damian Lillard, their offseason work is likely done. Josh Richardson was added to firm up a wing rotation that lost Max Strus and Gabe Vincent. Mark Bryant was added to boost a power rotation that was wonky at backup center last season with Dewayne Dedmon and Cody Zeller. And Jaime Jaquez Jr. was drafted as a ready-now contributor. Plus there is the further expected growth of Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro, and potentially Nikola Jovic and Haywood Highsmith, as well. Kelly Oubre might have helped, but it’s not as if the Heat were positioned to guarantee a rotation role (after likely making such assurances to Richardson, to land him at the minimum).. So Oubre moved on and the Heat wait for something potentially bigger.
A: It’s going to end if/when the Blazers have the courage to accept their complete rebuild and accept that a franchise icon deserves better than to be left dangling in the wind. As for the Heat, none of this was a given. So they went out and addressed needs in free agency with Josh Richardson and Thomas Bryant, and in the draft with Jaime Jaquez Jr., all while continuing to pump time and effort into their developmental program. The Heat can’t force the Blazers to deal them Damian Lillard (and Lillard’s desires appear to resonate minimally with Portland), so they have no choice but to move forward.
A: Teams’ first priority is to look out for themselves, not to play defense on the personnel market. Plus, it’s not as if you’re talking about the Golden State Warriors or Chicago Bulls during their dynastic years. The sense seems to be, even with the Heat having made the East finals three of the past four years, that they hardly are the team to beat in the East. So when it comes to a potential third wheel in a Damian Lillard deal, it would be more about addressing their own needs.
