The Miami Heat almost seemed guaranteed to land Damian Lillard from the Portland Trail Blazers this past offseason after the star guard named them his preferred landing spot in a trade.
It was no secret that the Heat coveted Lillard and offered almost everything they had to pair him with Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo.
However, Portland ended up trading Lillard to the Milwaukee Bucks which left Miami pivoting toward plan B.
Their backup plan was to chase after Jrue Holiday who got routed to the Trail Blazers in the Lillard deal.
Holiday made for a perfect fit under head coach Erik Spoelstra, but he ended up getting sent to another Eastern Conference rival in the Boston Celtics via NBA Central.
Seeing Lillard and Holiday go elsewhere in the conference stings, and apparently, Miami was willing to throw more trade assets for Holiday according to Ethan J. Skolnick of 5 Reasons Sports.
“Jrue’s contract is friendlier. He plays defense, which the Heat value; and the Heat don’t believe that Dame does,” Skolnick said.
Lillard is in the midst of a max contract extension, while Holiday is up for his own extension that wouldn’t cost nearly as much Lillard’s.
Holiday’s fit as a two-way guard who doesn’t necessarily need the basketball in his hands makes for a cleaner fit next to Butler and Adebayo though they’ll have to make do with who they currently have on the roster instead.
Although the Heat have gotten off to a relatively slow start to the season, they always find a way to come alive in the playoffs so it’ll be interesting to see what they look like then.
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