Heat conveys it’s in holding pattern as it works on Lillard; Blazers not yet capitulating

The Portland Trail Blazers have been resistant in the Heat’s efforts to acquire Portland All-Star guard Damian Lillard. But Miami has privately conveyed that it has put additional player acquisitions on hold, at least for now, while working to find a Lillard package that’s acceptable to the Blazers, according to an agent who has spoken with the Heat’s front office.

Lillard has remained adamant about being traded only to the Heat. ESPN has reported that it will get “uncomfortable” if Portland tries to trade him elsewhere. It’s unclear what Lillard would do if faced with that circumstance.

ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski said Tuesday that Lillard’s insistence to play only for Miami hasn’t deterred Portland from exploring alternate teams.

“For Portland, they’re going to take their time with this process and start to build out what the best offers would be elsewhere,” Wojnarowski said. “But when it comes to Miami, for the Blazers, their focus is elsewhere on getting maximum value for Dame Lillard.”

Multiple teams, including Brooklyn, have been contacted in the Heat’s efforts to find assets that could convince Portland to send Lillard to the Heat.

“Miami at the minimum needs a third team probably to take on Tyler Herro and they [would then] have those assets from that team [to send on] to Portland,” Wojnarowski said. “Portland doesn’t have interest in bringing in Tyler Herro. Their group already is built around young guards.”

In the meantime, the Heat apparently has stopped offering minimum contracts to free agents; at least that’s what they told an agent who has multiple free agents. The Heat’s high payroll precludes them from using exception money; Miami is limited to offering only minimum deals.

The Heat’s reasoning for a temporary pause on minimum deals is twofold: 1). Miami already has 13 players on standard contracts, and the Heat conceivably could take back more players in a Lillard trade than it sends out. 2). The Heat won’t know what positions need augmenting until it completes a Lillard trade.

For example, if Miami sends Kyle Lowry away in a package for Lillard, the Heat needs a veteran backup point guard. If the Heat doesn’t get Lillard, Miami needs a point guard capable of starting to supplement Lowry.

Lillard would give the Heat an All-NBA point guard. But with Gabe Vincent headed to the Lakers, the only pure point guards now under contract with Miami are Lowry (who is available in trade talks) and Dru Smith (on a two-way contract).

Here’s a look at the veteran free agent point guards who haven’t signed or committed to teams:

▪ Goran Dragic: The former Heat guard, who finished last season with Milwaukee after a buyout from Chicago, would welcome a return to Miami. There has been no Heat pursuit to this point, a source said.

Dragic averaged 6.3 points and shot 35.9 percent on threes in 58 appearances last season, including 51 for the Bulls.

At 37, the 6-4 Dragic would like to continue playing if it’s the right fit.

▪ Kendrick Nunn: Another former Heat option, Nunn has had a rocky path since averaging 15.3 points and 14.6 points during the first two seasons of his career with Miami.

He missed the 2021-22 season with a knee injury after signing with the Lakers, and Los Angeles traded him to Washington last February.

He averaged 7.1 points in a combined 70 games and two starts for the Lakers and Wizards last season, shooting 42.4 percent from the field and 35.4 percent on threes.

▪ Frank Ntilikina: The combo guard averaged just 2.9 points in 47 games and five starts for Dallas last season and has shot threes poorly throughout his career (32.3). Lack of three-point range makes him an unappealing fit for Miami.

▪ John Wall: Diminished by age (32) and injury issues, he averaged 11.4 points and 5.3 assists, while shooting 30 percent on threes in 34 games for the Clippers last season. Los Angeles wasn’t impressed and dealt him to Houston, which released him three days later. No team opted to sign him after that.

▪ George Hill: The veteran averaged 5.0 points and shot 35.8 percent on threes in 46 games — 35 (all off the bench) for Milwaukee and 11 games for Indiana. At 36, he’s still serviceable.

▪ Kemba Walker: Along with Dragic and Wall, nobody on this list has a better resume than Walker. But Walker played in just nine games last season (all for Dallas) before being waived in January. He has appeared in only 89 games during the past three seasons and at 33, might be at the end of the road because of recurring knee problems.

It was just two years ago that he averaged 19.3 points and shot 36 percent on threes in 43 games for Boston, all starts. But his problematic knee has been too much to overcome.

▪ Aaron Holiday: A bit undersized at 6-0, Holiday averaged 3.9 points and shot 40 percent on threes in 63 games and six starts for Atlanta, averaging 13.4 minutes per game. He had made 62 career starts and shot 37.7 percent on threes.

▪ Ish Smith: A barely functional backup at 34; he averaged 2.5 points and shot 2 for 12 on threes in 43 games off the bench for the Nuggets last season. He played only 12 minutes during Denver’s postseason run but also became the only player in league history to win an NBA championship with his 13th NBA franchise.

▪ Among others available: Michael Carter-Williams (just five appearances during the past two seasons), D.J. Augustin, Ryan Arcidiacono, Mac McClung, Raul Neto.