3 reasons the Blazers should trade Damian Lillard to the Heat and 2 reasons they shouldn’t

By Jakob Ashlin | Jul 25, 2023

Nov 7, 2022; Miami, Florida, USA;Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard (0) dribbles the ball against the Miami Heat during the first quarter at FTX Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rich Storry-USA TODAY Sports /

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Portland Trail Blazers guard Scoot Henderson drives the ball against the Houston Rockets during the first half at Thomas & Mack Center. Mandatory Credit: Lucas Peltier-USA TODAY Sports /

Reasons the Blazers should trade Damian Lillard to the Heat: 2. Avoid dragging this out any longer

This one is simple. As long as the Lillard situation is unresolved, it will continue to be a distraction for the organization. We have seen this phenomenon in recent years (James Harden – Houston, Anthony Davis – Pelicans).

The Heat trade is a clear path to a resolution. Moving Lillard would allow the Blazers to fully hand over the keys to the franchise to their young core (Anfernee Simons, Scoot Henderson, Shaedon Sharpe). It would also end the media circus and allow the team to focus on basketball.

The deal would give them a fun young team to build around and plenty of future assets to plan around as they build the next iteration.

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