According to reports, the Miami Heat are said to be interested in acquiring Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard in a trade. However, Hall of Famer Paul Pierce is sceptical about this move, as he believes that adding Lillard to the team would not improve Miami's chances of winning an NBA title compared to their performance in the 2022-23 season. In fact, Pierce suggests that such a trade would actually weaken the Heat enough that they wouldn’t make it out of the first round.


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Pierce's argument revolved around the idea that the Miami Heat's successful NBA Finals run last month was largely due to the depth of their roster. He expressed concerns that acquiring Damian Lillard through trade would result in the loss of key players who contributed double-digit scoring in crucial games.

Tracy McGrady and Rachel Nichols, Pierce’s co-hosts on ‘What’s Burnin’ where he made the claim, disagreed with Pierce's viewpoint, asserting that if Lillard were to join the team, the Miami Heat would have a better chance of advancing past the first round in the next season. According to a report on Wednesday, the Miami Heat are currently in a "holding pattern" and have kept two roster spots open as they work towards finalizing a deal for Lillard.

“You put [Lillard, Butler, and Adebayo] together, they won’t make it out of the first round,” Pierce said. “You’ve gotta understand how they got to the championship. A lot of this had to do with their depth and guys playing way above their pay grade.”

Lillard Trade Might Come Good For Heat

The potential loss of Tyler Herro or Duncan Robinson in a trade would undoubtedly have a negative impact on the Miami Heat. However, by considering a trade for 32-year-old Damian Lillard, the Heat would be adding an exceptional talent to a team that recently made it to the NBA Finals.

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Lillard, who has been selected to the All-NBA team seven times, is coming off his most impressive season ever, averaging 32.2 points, 7.3 assists, and 4.8 rebounds per game.