Paul Pierce: Heat Won’t Get Out of First Round With Damian Lillard
The Heat continue to come up as the top landing spot for a Damian Lillard trade this offseason as both sides seem to want a trade to work out.
Even though most people have thought Miami makes the most sense for Lillard, former NBA star Paul Pierce has different thoughts.
On this week’s episode of What’s Burnin’ with Rachel Nichols on Showtime Basketball, former NBA star Tracy McGrady offered his opinion as to why Lillard joining Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo seems like a good fit. Pierce quickly jumped in and offered his shocking take.
“You put them together, they won’t make it out the first round [of the playoffs],” Pierce said.
Pierce’s argument consisted of the fact that he believes the Heat’s NBA finals run last month had a lot to do with the depth on Miami’s roster. If the Heat were to trade for Lillard, they would lose some of those players who helped the team by scoring double-digits in crucial games.
McGrady and Nichols seemed to disagree with Pierce’s take by arguing that Miami would make it farther than the first round next year if Lillard joins the team.
A report on Wednesday stated that the Heat are currently in a “holding pattern,” keeping two roster spots open as they attempt to hash out a deal. The long wait has been making it harder on the Heat, a report noted on Thursday.
