Damian Lillard‘s rumored move to Miami refuses to settle down amid trade updates. The reigning ECF champions have been identified as one of the suitors for the Portland legend.

And with Dame already handing in a trade request, the onus is on Miami to get this over with.

Damian Lillard’s curated Miami move

Having spent his entire career at the Trail Blazers the curtain is finally coming down. Although on paper the deal looks very likely to happen, there are few changes that need to be made in order to land Dame in Miami.

During the 2001 season, the NBA incorporated a ‘Luxury Tax‘ after the 1998 NBA lockout. This saw the league switch to an escrow-based system taxing any excessive net spend on player salaries.

The implementation of this tax levied system meant that teams who couldn’t maintain the ‘Luxury tax threshold‘ would be fined a certain amount. The threshold is set before every season based on each team’s basketball related income or ‘BRI’.

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The 2023-24 season as reported by Spotrac sees the Miami Heat exceed the luxury tax threshold by $13 million. It means the team can be fined $23,926,550 by the NBA.

In this backdrop, Lillard’s move to Miami would mean a rise in the net spend, costing the franchise a significantly larger sum.

With Gabe Vincent and Oladipo already on their way-out, Miami would need few more leavings before locking on Dame.

Damian Lillard-Miami most likely scenario

After handing in his trade request Dame seems to be envisioning a title with Jimmy Butler and Co.

But with Bam Adebayo and Caleb Martin out of the trade discussion, what is the most likely trade scenario?

One of the proposed trade options is Miami receiving Dame and Jusuf Nurkic in exchange for Tyler Herro, Kyle Lowry, Nikola Jovic and three future draft options.

This deal wouldn’t make sense in the long run, and it seems very likely that the trade will involve a third party.

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Whichever the scenario, one thing is for sure that the Dame time is officially over in Portland.