In the past, the Milwaukee Bucks and the Miami Heat have had intense playoff battles. Entering the 2024-2025 season, Milwaukee and Miami will both have championship expectations.
The Heat and the Bucks will probably be basketball teams looking to add at the 2024-2025 NBA trade deadline. Miami and Milwaukee had different players rumored in trade talks during the offseason.
Allucanheat.com Writer Wes Goldberg Thinks That the Miami Heat Could Trade For Milwaukee Bucks Damian Lillard At the NBA Trade Deadline
Before the start of the 2024-2025 season, allucanheatwriter.com writer Wes Goldberg wrote about three different potential trade targets for Miami at the deadline if their respective seasons go south. One of the players he thinks that the Miami Heat could trade for at the trade deadline during the 2024-2025 season is Milwaukee Bucks point guard Damian Lillard.
The thing is that the Bucks are committed to winning a championship around Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard. It could be a make-it-or-break-it season for them anyway. Goldberg said about the possibility of trading for Lillard:
“The Bucks are old. Depending on who you ask, the window is closing or it’s already closed. Damian Lillard is 34, Khris Middleton is 33 (but has the ankles of a 63-year-old) and – don’t look now – Giannis Antetokounmpo will be 30 in December.
I remain bullish on the Bucks. Giannis and Dame should be better in Year 2, and Middleton is due for a stretch of health at some point. There’s enough star power at the top, institutional knowledge, and consistency at head coach to bet on the Bucks making a top-four finish in the East.
But I’ve been wrong before. If the Bucks experiment fails and it’s clear by February that thing is done, what’s to stop the Heat from calling the Bucks about Lillard?
At that point, he’ll have two-and-a-half years left on his contract, and Milwaukee could be motivated to get younger and cheaper around Giannis. Could the Heat interest them in Wisconsin native Tyler Herro and valuable depth pieces?
Lillard could join Bam Adebayo and Jimmy Butler in Miami. As beat up as the Heat have been, they still feel more structurally sound than the Bucks. Lillard could be the piece that puts them over the top during their shrinking window.”
It will depend on where the Bucks and the Heat are in the NBA Standings near the trade deadline of the 2024-2025 season. It would feel like a fantasy if Milwaukee traded Lillard to another team in the Eastern Conference.
Damian Lillard Contract Feels Untradeable
For the 2024-2025 season, Lillard has a cap hit of $48,787,676, according to Spotrac. His cap hit will be north of $54 million for the 2025-2026 season with the Bucks. He has a player option for Milwaukee in 2026-2027 and would be north of $58 million.
He is 34 years old and this would not be the kind of player for the Miami Heat to target. It is a nice thought for Miami, but the Bucks will be better than the Heat this season.
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