Getty Image / G Fiume
Earlier today, Damian Lillard finally requested a trade from the Portland Trail Blazers after weeks of them being unable to bring in pieces to make the team a contender.
When that request was reported, there were two franchises named as his top 2 options for his next team.
One was the Miami Heat, who have been repeatedly linked to him throughout the offseason and had seemingly made a trade for him their top priority as they try to get back to the NBA Finals next year.
The other team on the list was a bit more surprising.
The Brooklyn Nets seemingly started a rebuild at the most recent NBA trade deadline when they sent Kyrie Irving to the Mavericks and Kevin Durant to the Suns.
In spite of that, they were the 2nd team on Lillard’s list.
It turns out that both of these teams could actually end up in the trade that eventually gets Lillard out of Portland.
According to SNY’s Ian Begley, the Nets are one of the teams that have been contacted about being a part of a 3-team deal that would send Lillard to the Heat. The deal would send Tyler Herro to the Nets.
Nets are among the teams that have been contacted as a potential third team to acquire Tyler Herro in a Damian Lillard to Miami deal, per SNY sources. Yahoo earlier reported that Portland was looking for a third team to re-route Herro to in a potential Lillard deal.
— Ian Begley (@IanBegley) July 1, 2023
Herro makes a whole lot more sense for the Nets than Lillard would.
The Nets are rebuilding, but already have some solid pieces in place with Mikal Bridges, Nick Claxton, Cameron Johnson, and Spencer Dinwiddie.
Adding Herro to that would make them an interesting team right now, while also giving them another piece that helps with the rebuild.
With Anfernee Simons currently on the roster, it seems the Blazers aren’t interested in Tyler Herro and would rather accrue picks and the Brooklyn Nets could be the team that ends up capitalizing on that preference.