Follow-up to the deal: The Heat will restart a new deal, Holladay's new contract is exposed, and the Clippers can't sit still
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The Lillard trade has officially come to an end, and the follow-up to the deal is equally exciting. The first is the Heat, who will restart a new trade in the event of fruitless reinforcements to find a new championship helper for Butler, 33, or waste his prime time. It is reported that the Heat shifted their attention to All-Star point guard Joe Holladay, who had just been traded to the Blazers, believing that the experienced and offensive and defensive Holladay could play the position of point guard and become Butler's "Lillard".
The good news is that the new owners, the Trail Blazers, have no interest in keeping Holladay and have just put it on the trade shelf as soon as the deal is completed. At the moment, the Heat, 76ers and Celtics are all eyeing it, and the Heat's trade chips are more attractive than the other two teams. According to insiders, the Heat are the frontrunners in pursuit of Holladay and are regarded as the number one reinforcement before the start of the new season. It's worth noting that the Heat valued Holladay during his time with the Pelicans and failed to close a trade due to chips.
In the Lillard trade, the Heat failed to satisfy the Blazers' appetite by offering Taylor Hiro, Kyle Lowry, Jaime Hakes Jr., Nicla Jovic, 2027 and 2029 first-round picks, and 2028 and 2030 first-round picks as chips. And if offered a similar trade chip, the Blazers would have agreed to send Holladay to Miami, perhaps with fewer chips.
Of course, the Heat need to consider Holiday's contract extension, which qualifies for a four-year, $223 million early contract after March 28. Obviously, the 33-year-old Holladay will not give up the opportunity of his last big contract and fight for a maximum salary contract extension. There is no doubt that Holladay's top salary extension will reduce the Heat's salary space, and subsequent reinforcements will become difficult. Currently, Holiday's contract has $76 million left for two years, with the final year being a player option.
Watching other teams improve their roster depth, the Clippers management, who has made no moves this summer, can't sit still. Recently, the management of the Clippers decided to extend the contracts of two leading stars, Leonard and George, in advance, and the two sides have started renewal discussions and made progress, and the contract extension is expected to be signed soon. Currently, George, Leonard and the Clippers have two years left on their contracts, with the final year of $48 million being a player option. Next, the Clippers can extend the two of them in advance on a 4-year 223 million contract, and I believe the two will sign this top salary without hesitation.