Christian Wood, Kelly Oubre Possibilities If Miami Heat Fail On Damian Lillard

The Miami Heat have to pivot if they are unable to land Damian Lillard this offseason

After falling short of a championship last season, the Miami Heat’s front office is looking to acquire Portland Trailblazers superstar Damian Lillard. 

However, the Trailblazers seem hesitant to begin serious negotiations.

So if this fails, what should the Heat do next?

Not landing Lillard isn't the worst-case scenario. Building a deep roster around Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo has proven successful in the past. In the past four seasons, the Heat have made the NBA Finals twice.

The Heat could pivot to signing free agents Christian Wood and Kelly Oubre Jr.

Last season, Wood played for the Dallas Mavericks but was heavily underutilized. He averaged 16.6 points and 7.3 rebounds on 51.5 percent shooting. In Miami, Wood could become a versatile backup for Adebayo.

Oubre has gone under the radar despite having one of his best statistical seasons. He averaged 20.3 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.4 steals for the Charlotte Hornets. After losing forward Max Strus this summer, Oubre could provide much-needed scoring.

The other option is to compete with a similar roster to last season. Losing Strus, Gabe Vincent and Victor Oladipo hurt but the addition of rookie Jaime Jaquez Jr. and center Orlando Robinson potentially having a breakout allows the Heat to maintain solid depth.

The return of third-leading scorer Tyler Herro also provides more scoring. He was sidelined during last season’s playoffs after sustaining a broken hand against the Milwaukee Bucks.

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Anthony Pasciolla is a contributor to Inside The Heat. He can be reached at anthonypasciolla36@gmail.com or follow him on Tik Tok @anthonysports_