There is no doubt that the Miami Heat have been circling around superstar Damian Lillard, but thus far, no trade has materialized.
It is widely believed that the Heat do not have the required pieces to make an appealing trade package for the Portland Trail Blazers.
Perhaps now is the time for the Heat to pivot to trading for a different player on the Trail Blazers. Though they may not have enough assets to land a superstar like Damian Lillard, the Heat could definitely land a lower-tier guard from the Trail Blazers, as Portland has a surplus of guards.
This proposed trade sends Anfernee Simons to the Miami Heat
Miami Heat Receive: Anfernee Simons
Portland Trail Blazers Receive: Kyle Lowry, Nikola Jovic, 2027 First-Round Pick (MIA)
This is a simple trade that helps the Miami Heat add talent in the backcourt, and they would certainly get better on the offensive end with his deal. Meanwhile, the Portland Trail Blazers would be able to get a good deal for a guard player on a short-term contract.
Here is why this move works out for both teams.
The Miami Heat Add A Dynamic Scoring Guard
Even though the Miami Heat believe they can win the East without a player like Damian Lillard, the Finals are an absolutely different story.
They lost to the Denver Nuggets largely due to their inability to create offense consistently outside of Jimmy Butler. Though a heliocentric system around Jimmy Butler clearly is good enough to get them to the NBA Finals, they need another player who can score efficiently to really be a championship-level team.
This trade would land the Miami Heat an elite guard in Anfernee Simons, who is well-known for his scoring ability. He averaged 21.1 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 4.1 assists per game while shooting 37.7% from 3PT range on 9.1 attempts per game.
There is no doubt that he has elite shot-creation ability: Simons is a true three-level scorer, who has shown that he can thrive next to a ball-dominant player like Damian Lillard.
