The Miami Heat are putting together a trade package for Damian Lillard that would include three or four first-round picks, sources told Shams Charania of The Athletic.

"The Heat have been preparing a trade package around three-to-four first-round draft picks, potential draft swaps, as well as second round picks...a young player potentially," said Charania on The Rally. 

Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald also reported earlier in the day that the Blazers have been acting disinterested towards trading Lillard to the Heat. 

Udonis Haslem announced his retirement on Instagram after 20 years with the Miami Heat.

"I consider myself extremely blessed to say I can leave this game with no regrets. The championships, the accolades, the brotherhood, man it’s hard not to be at peace. Undrafted to a 3x Champion, All-Rookie 2nd Team, Teammate Of The Year, the oldest player to play in an NBA finals game, Miami Heat’s all-time leading rebounder and longest-tenured player, the list goes on," wrote Haslem on his post.

Haslem signed with the Heat as an undrafted free agent in 2003. 

The 43-year-old appeared in 879 regular season games and 149 postseason games while winning three championships with the Heat.

Haslem averaged 7.5 points and 6.6 rebounds for his career. 

Goran Dragic and the Miami Heat have held discussions about a deal for his return.

The Heat sent Dragic to the Toronto Raptors in 2021 as part of their deal for Kyle Lowry. Dragic has since played for the Brooklyn Nets, Chicago Bulls and Milwaukee Bucks.

The Heat have remained largely in a holding pattern this offseason while pursuing a trade for Damian Lillard.

The Miami Heat have expressed interest in signing Jamal Cain to a Two-Way contract, but he continues to seek a standard contract.

The Heat gave Cain a qualifying offer, which will allow the Heat to retain him if they choose to.

Cain went undrafted in 2022 out of Oakland before signing a Two-Way in October.

The NBA sent a memo to all 30 teams regarding comments surrounding the trade request by Damian Lillard and his agent Aaron Goodwin.

“Recent media reports stated that Damian Lillard’s agent, Aaron Goodwin, called multiple NBA teams to warn them against trading for Lillard because Lillard’s only desired trade destination is Miami. Goodwin also made public comments indicating that Lillard would not fully perform the services called for under his player contract if traded to another team.   

"We interviewed Goodwin and Lillard and also spoke with several NBA teams to whom Goodwin spoke. Goodwin denied stating or indicating to any team that Lillard would refuse to play for them. Goodwin and Lillard affirmed to us that Lillard would fully perform the services called for under his player contract in any trade scenario.  The relevant teams provided descriptions of their communications with Goodwin that were mostly, though not entirely, consistent with Goodwin’s statements to us.   

"We have advised Goodwin and Lillard that any future comments, made privately to teams or publicly, suggesting Lillard will not fully perform the services called for under his player contract in the event of a trade will subject Lillard to discipline by the NBA.  We also have advised the Players Association that any similar comments by players or their agents will be subject to discipline going forward.”

The Miami Heat promoted Andy Elisburg to Executive Vice President, Basketball Operations/General Manager on Thursday.

Elisburg, who joined the franchise in 1988, served as the Senior Vice President, Basketball Operations/General Manager for the last ten years. 

The Chicago Bulls emerged as a potential suitor for Christian Wood, sources tell Dan Woike of the Los Angeles Times.

The Bulls were recently granted a $10.2 million Disabled Player Exception for Lonzo Ball, which could allow them to use part of it to sign Wood.

The Miami Heat and Los Angeles Lakers also have interest in Wood. The Dallas Mavericks don't have interest in re-signing Wood after one season with the team.

The Portland Trail Blazers have told the Miami Heat to "make your best offer" for Damian Lillard," reports Shams Charania of The Athletic. 

Lillard requested a trade to the Heat on July 1st, but the two sides have yet to hold any meaningful dialogue. Both the Blazers and Heat have postured as though they have considerably more leverage than the other side and neither team appears to be in a rush.

"I’m told the sides have spoken but not about anything significant and that there is no real traction on any deal yet," writes Charania.

The Utah Jazz have signed center Omer Yurtseven.

Yurtseven (7-0, 255, Georgetown) is entering his third NBA season, having spent two campaigns (2021-23) with the Miami Heat, owning averages of 5.2 points on 53.3 percent shooting and 4.9 rebounds per contest in 65 career games (12 starts). During the 2021-22 campaign, the 25-year-old totaled 11 double-figure scoring outings, including two 20-plus point outings and eight double-doubles. He’s appeared in 17 postseason contests in two seasons. 

The already drawn out process of a Damian Lillard trade with the Portland Trail Blazers appears to be a byproduct of how there is no impetus for any side to get a deal done.

The Miami Heat are considered the team "most motivated" to trade for Lillard and also his preferred destination, but they are trying to avoid overpaying on a deal if they can as the market is not as high for him considering his age and contract status.

"It could take months," said Adrian Wojnarowski on Friday. "It could take weeks. I think the absence of a real deadline lurking on a Damian Lillard trade. There's no trade deadline coming. There's no NBA draft. There's no July 1 free agency about to start. All those landmarks in the NBA calendar give teams motivation and give them parameters to get big deals done. The next real deadline for any of these teams is the start of training camp in late September.

"So I think for the Portland Trail Blazers, they don't want to rush into what they consider to be a bad deal. The Miami Heat, the team that is most motivated to try to trade for Damian Lillard, where Damian Lillard wants to end up, they don't want to be in a situation where they are bidding against themselves right now. They look out into the marketplace [and] know that the market does not love the idea of paying Damian Lillard a $60 million average at 35 and 36 years old, the last two years of that deal. If this was a contract with two years left, it would be different perhaps. So there's no rush for either side to be real aggressive in their conversations with each other."

"I think for Portland, they're motivated to wait this out and continue to see how we get the most back for Damian Lillard. They don't see it as moving quickly on a deal, unless Miami came with all of their assets. You know what they're able to trade for Damian Lillard. They're not motivated to do that now that they would be bidding against themselves."

The Blazers signed Lillard to a two-year, $122 million extension in 2022 that Wojnarowski referenced as being a factor in depressing his trade value.