Portland Trail Blazers point guard Damian Lillard. (Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports)
The Miami Heat are in talks to trade for Bradley Beal but according to one report they’d rather go all-in for Damian Lillard.
According to Marc Stein, the Heat have made their order of targets known when it comes to the list of NBA players available this offseason. They would rather trade for Damian Lillard than Bradley Beal.
Stein has stated that it is an option that the Blazers will be using the third overall pick rather than trading that pick to help the team now. If Portland were to use that pick instead of packaging it and other pieces to get an All-NBA talent, the Miami Heat would be on the top of the list for Lillard.
It seems like a Beal trade is an option that the Heat can trigger if they are willing to give up the correct number of assets for the player. It seems he is willing to waive his no-trade clause for Miami (given the right trade offer) and would not cost as much as Lillard would.
Beal has had a lot of rumors indicating that is going to be traded to the Suns instead of the Heat. Beal currently controls the situation due to the fact that he holds a no-trade clause.
Should the Miami Heat wait to trade for Damian Lillard instead of Bradley Beal?
Due to this recent bit of news, it seems that Heat fans are probably worried after Miami lost out on Kevin Durant and Donovan Mitchell with this same strategy last offseason. While Lillard is a better player than Beal, it probably isn’t worth paying more for Lillard when you consider that he is the older player.
Miami was three wins away from winning the championship. With them being this close, the Heat should probably not wait for Lillard. It seems like the Trail Blazers will send Lillard where he wants to go but he will cost more.
This is something that the Heat can’t afford the after-effects of due to the fact that they have limited tradeable assets. The Thunder have their 2025 first-round pick (protected which means that can’t trade 2026 due to the fact that the protections force the Heat into giving up their 2026 pick if they do not make the playoffs).