New developments in the Lillard deal
According to a recent report by Barry Jackson of Miami Herald, "Portland has not actively engaged with the Heat or tried to close the Damian Lillard trade for some time. Maybe they hope this will develop like Kevin Durant did last summer. ”
It is understood that in the previous negotiations between the Miami Heat and the Portland Blazers, the Heat have changed the trade offer several times, but the Blazers' general manager Cronin is still unwilling to let go. In the latest offer, the Heat made seven first-round plus four player offers, but the Blazers still did not respond. The Heat will go all-out to acquire wayward Portland Trail Blazers superstar Damian Lillard for some time to come. Barry Jackson said in reference to the latest developments in the Lillard deal.
Seeing the Miami Heat's offer, I thought of a recent quote: "Harden just wants to change the environment in which he plays, and Lillard wants to tear down a team." "Trading potential players such as Hiro and Dunro plus 7 first-round rounders (3 of which were swapped in the first round) is really not in the future.
The Heat lock on targets
After the Heat decided to go all-in in pursuit of Lillard, it also proved that once the deal is done, Hiro and other backcourt players will leave Miami, and the Heat's guard line will be stretched thin by then. So the Heat targeted Wilbarton in the free market and wanted to bring in Wilbarton to replenish firepower.
Wilbarton is currently the most aggressive defender in free agency. Before the '22-23 season, Barton was one of the best shooting guards in the league, but it's clear that the main reason for Barton's decline in numbers is that the team gave him too little playing time, and as a player who used to playing 20-30 minutes, his time suddenly dropped to 13 minutes. So it's not impossible for Barton to play, he can still play some role for a competitive team. For the Heat, they don't have much room for manoeuvre now, and since they have decided to go all out to pursue Lillard, they can only try to find powerful helpers for the future Big Three.
Klay Thompson renews his contract
Warriors owner Lacob expressed in a recent interview that he hopes Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and Curry will end up with the Warriors, which basically means that the Warriors will renew Thompson's contract. According to Bobby Marks, a salary expert at the NBA, Thompson's market value is still $30 million.
In "Fox Sports" Bill Simmons' own show mentioned the latest news of Thompson's contract extension, he said: "We all know that Thompson's contract extension with the Warriors can be said to be almost 100%, but he will not get another 40 million annual salary, but according to Warriors insiders, Thompson's recent communication with management was not smooth, and the management wanted Klay Thompson to accept a contract similar to Green's, but Thompson directly rejected the opinion of Warriors management. ”
Indeed, Thompson's reluctance to take a big salary cut is understandable, after all, he, Green, and Curry are all part of the Warriors dynasty, and I think this is the main reason why the Warriors are willing to renew Thompson's contract. Although his state is not as good as before, the existence of "Kuchai Tang" can truly bring more benefits to the Warriors. However, after all, the two parties have not yet completed the renewal, and I hope that the day when the two parties renew the contract will come soon.