possible trade, the Heat are reported to have offered Portland more assets as a swap for Holiday.
The Miami Heat were reportedly willing to surrender more assets in a Jrue Holiday trade than one for Damian Lillard.
Lillard, of course, wasn’t the only All-NBA guard to change teams amid his trade to Milwaukee. The Bucks sent Jrue Holiday to the Blazers in the trade, who quickly re-routed him to the Boston Celtics in exchange for Robert Williams III, Malcolm Brogdon, a 2024 first-round pick and the Golden State Warriors’ 2029 unprotected first-rounder.
Friction between Portland and Miami stemming from failed Lillard trade talks reportedly played a role in the teams never seriously conferring about a possible deal for Holiday. That breakdown in communication was apparently a bigger loss for the Blazers than initially anticipated, though.
The Heat reportedly would’ve been willing to offer Portland more assets for Holiday than they ultimately did for Lillard, according to Ethan Skolnick of 5 Reasons Sports.
“Jrue’s contract is friendlier. He plays defense, which the Heat value; and the Heat don’t believe that Dame does,” Skolnick wrote in a recent chat, per NBA Central.
Whether Miami would have actually offered a larger trade package for Holiday than they did for Lillard is irrelevant at this point. Though offensive dynamism and firepower were the Heat’s Achilles’ heals in their unlikely run to the 2022 NBA Finals, Lillard seemed like a far better all-around trade target than Holiday.
Although Holiday, Jimmy Butler, and Bam Adebayo would lead an absolutely dominant team defensively, they would also lack the volume three-point shooting and reliable floor-bending ability that have plagued Miami in the postseason the past few years at the highest levels. Holiday’s upcoming contract, which he will receive once he opts out of his current one, won’t be as large as Lillard’s, but it would still significantly restrict the Heat’s ability to assemble a team around a Big Three of Holiday, Butler, and Adebayo.
But what is the true narrative behind the additional hints about Miami’s interest in Lillard being abandoned several months after Milwaukee acquired him? Why the team still feels like they have to talk about the Lillard drama.
