Heat Rumors: Damian Lillard Trade Pursuit Has MIA's Additional Roster Moves 'On Hold'

With the Damian Lillard sweepstakes fully in motion, the Miami Heat have decided to put all other potential roster moves on the back burner until the situation with Lillard is resolved, according to the Miami Herald's Barry Jackson.

With their high payroll that goes well into the luxury tax and is nearing the second apron, the Heat can only afford to hand out minimum contracts like the ones they gave to Josh Richardson and Thomas Bryant.

But Miami has stopped offering minimum contracts to free agents while waiting to see whether Lillard will land in South Florida, per Jackson.

Jackson reported that the are a couple key reasons why Miami is pausing all of its free agent business. First, it already has 13 players on its roster and might end up taking back more players than it sends away in a potential Lillard deal. Also, it won't know what positions to target in free agency until after the trade is made

The Heat is in the driver's seat to land the seven-time All-Star with The Athletic's Shams Charania reporting that Lillard only wants to play for Miami next season. It's also been reported that things could get "uncomfortable" if Portland tries to send him anywhere else.

Lillard's determinedness and preference have potentially deterred some of his potential suitors as they don't want to acquire a disgruntled superstar and deal with that situation. Some other possible landing spots outside of the Heat include the Brooklyn Nets, Los Angeles Clippers, Philadelphia 76ers and San Antonio Spurs.

But there's still a ways to go if Lillard is going to become the latest disciple of Heat culture. The organization is planning to send a package centered around Tyler Herro, Duncan Robinson and draft compensation, per Bleacher Report's Chris Haynes.

However, it seems like the Trail Blazers aren't too keen on adding Herro to its current mix of young talent and any deal between the two teams would more than likely require a third team to reroute Herro to.

So, it likely won't be that short of a process, hurting Miami's roster building in the long run. It's especially difficult considering that the organization recently loss Gabe Vincent and Max Strus in free agency, both were starters during the team's recent run to the NBA Finals.