The Utah Jazz are poised to potentially benefit from the Damian Lillard trade but will it happen anytime soon?
The Utah Jazz are not likely to land Damian Lillard from the Portland Trail Blazers. They seemed to have had an interest early in the process, but Lillard has made it clear through rumors and “reports’ that he’s not interested in going anywhere else other than Miami to play for the Heat. He’s still open to staying in Portland, but if it’s not Portland, it’s reported that it’s only going to be Miami.
And anyone else who lands him will see him request an immediate trade. Ironically, in an effort to steer himself to Miami, he’s all but made it impossible for him to get there, as the Heat have some of the fewest assets in the NBA to land him. Meaning, that the Heat will need another team to make it happen; and that’s where the Utah Jazz come in to play.
See, the big issue for the trade revolves around the Blazers having too many guards they currently like and not having a need for a quality player like Heat guard Tyler Herro. So the Blazers and Heat are hoping to find a third team, like the Utah Jazz, to come in and help facilitate the trade. The Jazz would love a guy like Herro, who’s a good facilitator on top of his scoring.
So he can pass and shoot, which the Jazz would love from a shooting guard.
But his arrival isn’t guaranteed, in part due to the fact that the Heat are seemingly standing pat. NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski revealed that the Heat, for whatever reason, are dragging their feet.
And not only are the Heat dragging their feet, but the Trail Blazers are trying to figure one out prior to training camp in October. Wojnarowski goes on to say (via Heat Nation);
"You have Portland trying to – listen not only talk to teams who have an interest in Lillard, but lots of teams who’d like to get in on a bigger deal. …They’re certainly behaving like a team that wants to get a deal done, that is trying to get a deal done before training camp.Now, so far the one element that has not been a part of these talks are the Miami Heat. But we know in trade talks and conversations that can change in one moment with one call."
So if that’s true, then the Lillard situation would be resolved. And it’s becoming more and more clear that while the Heat would like Lillard, maybe they don’t “want” Lillard. The Trail Blazer’s icon has made it pretty clear that the Heat are the only team he’d play for, but if the Heat really don’t want him, what is everyone going to end up doing?
Lillard then becomes fair game for whoever, and the Jazz really could use Lillard, but not for the asking price of Portland. But fans will find out, sooner rather than later, what the future of Lillard is in the NBA, and then we’ll know what that means for the Utah Jazz, and how the SLC hoops squad plans for their future from there.