What’s next for Heat after not trading for Lillard? And insight on why talks stalled with Blazers

For those who wondered how the Miami Heat would operate this summer, team president Pat Riley offered a hint at the start of the offseason.

“We’re not going to take a wrecking ball to a good team that had some real adversity this year that I felt built some strength,” Riley said during his season-ending news conference on June 20. “We have a good team, and probably a great team. We wouldn’t have gone as far as we have. ... And so, running it back? Yes. Doing something that can help you with that last step? Yes, if it’s a possibility, and if there’s an opportunity without setting you back while you’re moving forward.”

The Heat nearly took a wrecking ball to part of its roster after superstar guard Damian Lillard requested a trade to Miami on July 1. But talks between the Heat and Portland Trail Blazers went quiet for the last two months and Lillard was instead dealt to the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday.

The Heat was ready to make some big changes to a roster that made the NBA Finals as the Eastern Conference’s No. 8 seed last season to add an All-Star talent like Lillard, but it was only willing to go so far to make it happen.

There was a fundamental disagreement between the Heat and Trail Blazers on what constituted sufficient trade compensation for Lillard, according to multiple league sources.

The Heat and Trail Blazers spoke about a deal shortly after Lillard made his trade request in July, but communication between the sides was very limited since then. The Trail Blazers never re-engaged the Heat before accepting the Bucks’ offer Wednesday and did not inform the Heat that they were ready to accept Milwaukee’s offer.

The Trail Blazers initially asked for Heat All-Star center Bam Adebayo when the teams held trade discussions in July, and the Heat quickly shut down that possibility, according to a league source close to the situation. The Heat was left with the impression that the Trail Blazers did not have much interest in finding a deal with them, as Miami’s front office held strong on its stance of not gutting its current roster to land Lillard.

In the end, the Milwaukee Bucks acquired Lillard for a trade package that included Jrue Holiday, Grayson Allen, a 2029 unprotected first-round draft pick and unprotected swap rights in 2028 and 2030.

As part of the blockbuster three-team deal that also included the Phoenix Suns, the Trail Blazers received Holiday, the 2029 first-round pick and two pick swaps from the Bucks and Deandre Ayton and Toumani Camara from the Suns.

Is that package better than the one the Heat was willing to offer for Lillard? It remains unclear what the Heat’s latest offer to the Trail Blazers was, but the Heat’s initial offer for Lillard was built around guard Tyler Herro and draft compensation.

The Athletic reported Thursday that the Heat “were prepared in July and August” to offer three first-round draft picks, multiple second-round picks and swaps along with expiring contracts and Nikola Jovic as Herro was sent to a third team. It’s been reported that the Trail Blazers would have still acquired Ayton as part of a three-team deal with the Suns in that scenario.

But the Blazers remained “disinterested, with each side developing a level of contentiousness.”

When asked about the Heat’s pursuit of his client, Lillard’s agent Aaron Goodwin said to the Miami Herald: “They did everything they could to acquire Dame. It takes two to get a deal done. I appreciate all that Pat [Riley], Andy [Elisburg] and Micky [Arison] did to try and make this happen.”

What’s next for the Heat?

There are still intriguing names who could be moved in the near future.

The Trail Blazers are expected to now explore trading Holiday elsewhere for more assets to fast track their rebuild.

Disgruntled star James Harden’s trade request from the Philadelphia 76ers remains unresolved.

Sharpshooting guard Buddy Hield is reportedly working with the Indiana Pacers to find a new team through a trade after contract extension negotiations stalled.

The Heat did not begin an immediate aggressive pursuit of a trade for Holiday on Thursday, but it has not been ruled out, according to a source.

League sources told the Miami Herald on Thursday that the Heat, Los Angeles Clippers, Los Angeles Lakers, Boston Celtics, Chicago Bulls and Philadelphia 76ers are destinations that appeal to Holiday. That’s important because Holiday, 33, can become a free agent next summer with a player option worth $37.4 million in his contract for the 2024-25 season.

Holiday, who helped the Bucks win an NBA championship in 2021 and is due $35 million this season, averaged 19.3 points, 5.1 rebounds, 7.4 assists and 1.2 steals per game while shooting 47.9 percent from the field and 38.4 percent from three-point range last regular season for Milwaukee. He has been to an NBA All-Defensive team in five of the last six seasons.

The Heat is not expected to pursue Harden, who is due $35.6 million this season and is set to be an unrestricted free agent next summer.

The Heat has also not yet conveyed interest in Hield this summer despite expressing interest in him in the past, according to a league source. Hield, 30, is due $18.6 million this season in the final year of his current deal and is on track for a lucrative new contract after making more than 250 threes in five consecutive seasons.

There are also still some notable free agents still available like veteran guard Cameron Payne and former Heat guards Goran Dragic and Kendrick Nunn. The 37-year-old Dragic would welcome a Heat return but the Heat has yet to express interest in bringing him back, according to league sources.

One thing is for sure, the Heat’s roster for next season is incomplete.

That’s because while the Heat’s roster is already at the offseason/preseason roster limit of 21 players, the Heat needs to add at least one more player to a standard contract because the new CBA makes it tough for teams to consistently carry fewer than 14 players under standard deals.

The Heat’s roster currently includes 13 players on standard contracts: Adebayo, Thomas Bryant, Butler, Herro, Haywood Highsmith, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Jovic, Kevin Love, Kyle Lowry, Caleb Martin, Josh Richardson, Duncan Robinson and Orlando Robinson.

In addition, the Heat has three players signed to two-way deals (RJ Hampton, Jamal Cain and Dru Smith) and five players signed to Exhibit 10 contracts that essentially represent an invite to training camp (Cheick Diallo, Justin Champagnie, Drew Peterson, Cole Swider and Alondes Williams).

Because of Miami’s salary-cap situation and the new collective bargaining agreement’s punitive rules, the Heat only has minimum contracts to offer outside free agents. The Heat could also promote one of its two-way contract players or Exhibit 10 players to a standard deal to get to 14 players on its 15-man roster.

If the Heat does not make a trade or sign a veteran free agent to fill that void in the coming weeks, it will use training camp and the preseason to evaluate the two-way contract and Exhibit 10 players on its roster in hopes that one will emerge to take that open spot.

With the Heat so close to the newly instituted and punitive second apron, it’s worth noting that signing a veteran like Dragic and promoting a developmental player like Cain would both cost about $2.1 million toward the tax aprons.

The day after the Lillard trade saga came to an end, Herro had fun with the constant trade rumors he has been involved in throughout his young NBA career.

In response to an ESPN tweet of “Tyler Herro remains with the Heat after having his name linked to trade reports surrounding Damian Lillard,” Herro jokingly tweeted on Thursday: “Until next summer.”

The Heat holds its annual media day at Kaseya Center on Monday before opening training camp at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton on Tuesday.