In his latest apparent efforts to will a trade of Damian Lillard to the Miami Heat, Jimmy Butler has been captured performing past celebratory moves made by Lillard.
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Butler’s recreations include what’s become a signature move for Lillard, the tapping of an imaginary watch on his wrist. The move is meant to symbolize his clutch shooting and has been dubbed “Dame Time.”
The connection of Lillard to watches has become iconic enough that Lillard was featured in a commercial for Tissot watches.
With regard to any trade, the interest of the Heat was especially heightened when Lillard officially requested a trade from the Portland Trail Blazers on the first day of this month.
While the Heat have long been in pursuit of the future Hall of Famer, Lillard himself has apparently made it clear that he only wants to play for the Heat.
Yet, accomplishing a deal to make that happen may end up turning out to be a long process. One of the reasons stems from the fact that the Trail Blazers are not required to trade Lillard, despite his demand.
In addition, the Heat would have to put together an acceptable trade package for the Trail Blazers, who are expected to drive a very hard bargain. One report has indicated that Heat guard Tyler Herro is likely to be a prime candidate to be dealt in any Lillard deal.
Still, adding a player with Lillard’s pedigree would inject plenty of new life into the Heat offense. Over the course of his NBA career, Lillard has averaged 25.2 points, 6.7 assists, 4.2 rebounds and 1.0 steal per game.
Even though Lillard just turned 33 last Saturday, he’s showing no signs of slowing down. He has been forced to deal with injuries, especially during the 2021-22 campaign, when he was limited to just 29 games.
However, he made a rousing comeback on the court this past season by delivering a career-high 32.2 points per game and also averaging 7.3 assists per contest. The pinnacle of his production came on Feb. 26 against the Houston Rockets, when he scored an eye-popping 71 points on 22-of-38 from the field and 13 3-pointers.
Lillard and Butler do have something in common in that each of the veterans remains in search of his first NBA title. There’s no guarantee that adding Lillard to the Heat will make that happen, but Butler is not likely to give up his efforts anytime soon.
