If Damian Lillard ends up getting traded to the Heat, a big three of Lillard, Jimmy Butler and Bam
Adebayo will form a new big three in South Beach.
And while the trio certainly could cause headaches for opponents, one Celtics legend isn’t convinced it
will be enough to get to the NBA Finals.
Paul Pierce, Rachel Nichols and Tracy McGrady discussed on Showtime the hypothetical of Lillard
joining the Heat, and Pierce is of the belief that Miami won’t make it far in the playoffs if the team does
acquire him.
“You put them together they won’t make it out of the first round,” Pierce said.
The 2008 NBA champion went on to explain himself, saying the Heat relied on their depth to get to the
Finals — where they ultimately fell to the Denver Nuggets.
“A lot of this had to do with their depth and guys playing way above their pay grade,” Pierce said. “…
Those guys were averaging 20 points on Boston, we ain’t ever see them do that.”
Pierce highlighted the fact that both Max Strus and Gabe Vincent — who torched the Celtics in the
Eastern Conference Finals — both are no longer with the Heat after they traded Strus to the Cavaliers
and Vincent signed with the Lakers. While Miami signed Josh Richardson, the Eastern Conference
champions remain thin when it comes to depth.
McGrady, though, argued the Heat will have depth, saying “one thing Miami is always going to have is
depth,” which is what helped them out of the play-in tournament and to the NBA Finals.
Regardless of who the Heat have off the bench, a core that includes Butler, Adebayo and Lillard won’t be
easy to beat and arguably could be one of the NBA’s best trios.
All of this, of course, is hypothetical. Lillard requested a trade from the Trail Blazers and reportedly only
wants to play for the Heat. Portland hasn’t been impressed with Miami’s offers, and it seems more and
more likely the Heat will need a third team to help complete the deal. Tyler Herro’s name has been
thrown around a lot in rumors, and Duncan Robinson could be someone included to help bring Lillard
to South Beach.
Leave a Reply