Damian Lillard Trade Rumors: Blazers 'Disinclined to Engage Heat in Serious' Talks

The Portland Trail Blazers and Miami Heat remain at an impasse in the Damian Lillard trade saga, and neither team appears willing to blink first.

The Miami Herald's Barry Jackson reported Monday that the Blazers are still "disinclined to engage Heat in serious trade discussions on Lillard" and "acting disinterested about dealing him here."

The Heat, for their part, will not "bid against itself" when there doesn't seem to be another team matching their interest in the veteran guard, per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

The Oregonian's Aaron Fentress reported on July 7 that Portland is "seeking in the neighborhood of four first-round picks and two quality players" in return for Lillard.

Getting that kind of package from the Heat or any other team will be tough due to the seven-time All-Star's age and contract situation. He turned 33 this summer and can collect $216.2 million over the next four years.

The Utah Jazz commanded a king's ransom for Donvan Mitchell last summer, but the Cleveland Cavaliers were acquiring an All-Star in his prime playing years. The trade market may have corrected itself since then as well with the Brooklyn Nets receiving arguably less for Kevin Durant did than the Jazz did for Mitchell.

Blazers general manager Joe Cronin told reporters in July he was going to be patient when it came to the Lillard situation.

"I think the teams that have ended up in the most positive situations post-trade have been the ones that have been really diligent in taking their time and not been impulsive, or the teams that really kept their urgency under control," he said.

"So I think that's how my approach has been with this and will be with this. We're going to be patient; we're going to do what's best for our team. We're going to see how this lands. And if it takes months, it takes months."

Cronin apparently wasn't bluffing, and maybe the strategy pays off if the Heat become more and more desperate the closer they get to opening night.

Based on how little Lillard's market evolved, though, a more plausible scenario is the Blazers settling for a trade offer that was largely what Miami put on the table from the start.