Remember when the Heat finally traded for Damian Lillard, months after the star guard requested a trade from the Trail Blazers? No? Well, that’s because it didn’t happen. It turns out that Tyler Herro and a couple of first-round picks weren’t enough to pique Portland’s interest.
Maybe the Trail Blazers didn’t intend to trade Lillard to the Heat from the beginning, but the outcome is hilarious, especially for New York Knicks fans. It’s been over four months since Miami eliminated New York in the second round of the playoffs, and even though the new season is about to start, that’s a loss Knicks fans won’t forget about for a while.
The Heat lost Gabe Vincent and Max Strus in free agency, and their losses initially didn’t sting because it was presumed Lillard would soon call South Florida home. After all, even if Lillard wasn’t traded to the Heat, it was reported he’d demand a trade to Miami. That belief was quickly proved wrong when Lillard tweeted his excitement about going to Milwaukee.
The casuals won’t be addressed but the trailblazers fans and city of Portland that I love truly will be … and they will be addressed truthfully. Stay tuned
— Damian Lillard (@Dame_Lillard) September 27, 2023
Excited for my next chapter! @Bucks 🎟️
Where does that leave the Heat? Will they try to go after Jrue Holiday, who is now a Trail Blazer but won’t be for long? Does Miami even want to try to make another deal with Portland?
Those questions don’t have answers yet, so let’s look at some of the best tweets from the Lillard trade aftermath.
Knicks, NBA fans roast Heat after Trail Blazers trade Damian Lillard to Bucks
Heat fans talked trash all off-season just for Dame to go to one of their rivals LMAO 😭😭😭 pic.twitter.com/a2kfBDQeEc
— KnicksMuse (@KnicksMuse) September 27, 2023
The Miami Heat off-season
— Teg🚨 (@IQfor3) September 27, 2023
Didn’t get Dame
Lost Vincent and Strus
Herro mad at managment
Jimmy and Lowry old
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂pic.twitter.com/rO8uOVOEj1
Heat: We're gonna go get Damian Lillard
— FanDuel Sportsbook (@FDSportsbook) September 27, 2023
Bucks: pic.twitter.com/k33pKfi3zd
Miami Heat fans seeing Damian Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo team up on the Bucks pic.twitter.com/712tKRUa7R
— Complex Sports (@ComplexSports) September 27, 2023
The Miami Heat, presenting the Damian Lillard trade to their fans pic.twitter.com/IXhFT1XOkw
— NOTSportsCenter (@NOTSportsCenter) September 27, 2023
Jimmy Butler watching the Heat front office not land Damian Lillard and let the Bucks get him pic.twitter.com/T4ehtsXK0o
— Complex Sports (@ComplexSports) September 27, 2023
Ironically enough, Miami is in a similar position to the one New York was in last year after Cleveland swooped in for Donovan Mitchell. However, it’s different because the Knicks hadn’t made it to the NBA Finals in two of the past four seasons like the Heat, and in retrospect, New York’s patience paid off.
Miami fans will be haunted by the Giannis Antetokounmpo-Damian Lillard duo, at least for the next couple of years. The Eastern Conference got more challenging for the Knicks and every other team not named the Bucks, but at least the laughs have been endless.