The Miami Heat have their sights on landing Portland Trail Blazers superstar Damian Lillard. However, progress has been slow, which opens up avenues for other deals to materialize. After all, there have been rumors of other NBA stars becoming available leading up to the 2023-24 NBA Season opener.

Crunch Time for Dame Time

The Portland Trailblazers and Miami Heat have made some progress in the last 48-72 hours on a potential Damian Lillard trade, per @GregSylvander pic.twitter.com/QG8Uqd1E2h

— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) September 17, 2023

The Heat might start looking elsewhere if Portland refuses to budge. They could find what they need in the trade market and expand their search beyond the 33-year-old guard. Another prospect is the Toronto Raptors, who are on the verge of a rebuild following rumors that they will look to revamp their lineup and let go of their two best players this summer.

Damian Lillard requested a trade from his current organization a few months back. However, the Blazers have yet to grant his wish. Things might shift soon as NBA training camps are a few weeks away, and the franchises are upping the frequency of their trade talks. Training camps take off for most teams in the first week of October. If a deal fails to close by then, it forms a tricky situation where Lillard either has to show up for camp with a team he openly stated he wants to depart. He could also hold out and risk denting his reputation in the league.

Lillard is good friends with Heat big man Bam Adebayo and believes he can win a title with Adebayo and Jimmy Butler alongside him. The Heat have been working hard to create a trade package for Lillard, including several first-round picks, a young player, and possibly Tyler Herro going to a third team.

The Oakland-born player expressed his frustration with the Blazers in recent years for failing to add pieces to the roster and produce a title push. The Weber State product feels that time is up and it’s now time to request a trade following career season. Lillard was disappointed the Blazers didn’t trade the third overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft for an additional star player. Instead, the organization decided to pick up Scoot Henderson, who fills in the same position as Lillard, with the third pick.

There’s no question that Portland wants to get the best deal out of their best player. But with how things are looking, we see a potential deal between the Heat and the Raptors happening. Miami hopes to keep a few of their core players out of the trade. The conditions are expected to make things tricky for all parties involved. A balanced deal should manifest if they want to retain key players and get a deal done with Toronto.

Basketball fans and bettors’ expectations remain high that this deal gets done before training camp or sometime during the window. There’s no burning of bridges here, and Lillard isn’t out trying to take down the Trail Blazers front office. Ultimately, the pressure starts to build as the window begins to close.

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