Q: Speculative trade scenarios involving three or four teams to the contrary, the Heat are not giving up Tyler Herro, Kyle Lowry or Duncan Robinson, Caleb Martin, Nikola Jovic and Jaime Jaquez Jr. for Damian Lillard. I don’t recall Pat Riley ever making a lateral trade, much less a trade that makes the Heat worse, just for the sake of saying he obtained Lillard. – Morgan, New Orleans.
A: First, the Heat are not giving up all of that, nor would any trade partner dare expect all of that. The reasons you make trades are twofold. The first reason is to upgrade your core in a win-now setting. The other is to set up your future. With Jimmy Butler to turn 34 before the start of the coming season, the Heat are in that first, win-now category. So you start here: To win right now, is Damian Lillard an upgrade on Tyler Herro for the 2023-24 season? I believe most would agree. Then you look…