Damian Lillard’s reputation as one of the top leaders in the NBA should be unassailable. He’s also one of the three players in Trail Blazers history with the World’s Most Famous Deadhead and the Glide, and a deserving member of the league’s Top 75 (76 really) ballers list.  Yet these days, he’s besmirched by outside fans and media for wanting to play for the Eastern Conference champs while his commitment to Portland hasn’t ended. Naturally, most of the lot is siding with management over labor. 

Some whine, “He has four years on his contract, plus he said he wouldn’t run from the grind…” But teams try to get off bad deals when players aren’t living up to them.  When those moves are made, writers, broadcasters and fans applaud the machinations of the exec(s) who got it done.

And the lickspittles also cry that Portland shouldn’t send him to Miami, his chosen destination, because it can’t offer the most lucrative deal for him. They confuse Lillard with an imbecile and are wrong about Miami’s potential package.

Yet I care not for their observations because the Blazers drafted his successor instead of honoring the agreement with Dame to build a contender around him. Scoot Henderson will likely turn into a fine player, but he’s an understudy for the foreseeable future. Unless his impact is like Magic Johnson’s or that of Larry Legend as a novice, his addition doesn’t move the pendulum in the short term for conference supremacy. Had the team traded the pick before Draft night, everyone would have known they were for real about competing. 

Lillard did say he envisioned himself having a chance to win a championship in Portland before last season, but he’s changed his mind. His agent Aaron Goodwin is throwing his weight around by contacting suitors not named the Heat and telling them to buzz off; this makes Dame a “villain” because he is fixing the market for himself, which will probably work.

In a rose-covered world, Lillard stays in Portland and delivers its first title since Walton led the ‘77 outfit over the 76ers for the jewels.  But in the real one, he wants out because what he desires today is not what he craved in the past.  And likely because the Trail Blazers’ average 42 wins a year in the regular season since drafting Lillard, and he has appeared in 87% of those games.  

Maybe ring culture got to him, or like many people, he doesn’t want to spend all his years in the same sandbox. Perhaps both, but it doesn’t matter.  People at the peak of their professions should be skilled enough to decide where they want to work.  Lillard’s been at the top for a long time.  

I’d prefer he doesn’t waste away as a stud mentor to a group with a first-round ceiling. Last season was his 11th in the NBA, and Dame logged the highest scoring average of his career (32.2).  He turns 33 on July 15.

When the front office’s anxiety and desperation levels rise because no deal is percolating, props to Goodwin, aside from the one left simmering on the stove top with Miami, the figurative stare down with Lillard will end. Trying to hightail his wagon out of town with years still committed while leaving the only organization he’s played for in this fashion still isn’t enough to taint his fame.  

It’s important to remember the league is a business first, and labor will not hesitate to use that card against management.

A tale of two arenas; Monday, one side was bathing in champagne and the other likely in tears. Aaron Gordon, Christian Braun and coach Michael Malone, at separate times, embraced the fans waiting for them behind the line ropes in the tunnel. Then Ömer Yurtseven passed the hallway with his suitcase, looking like he’d seen a ghost.

Heat vice president of basketball ops Andy Elisburg even made an inconspicuous escape through the loading dock as we, the press vultures, scattered and waited for the Nuggets to pass by en route to the locker room.

“Those last three or four minutes felt like a scene out of a movie. Two teams in the center of the ring throwing haymaker after haymaker…” Erik Spoelstra said moments after Game 5.

But I’d say the entire season felt that way. In the last couple of months, the Heat expended everything it had physically to get to the NBA Finals, overcoming the Play-In Tournament to three wins away from a title.

It wasn’t luck, and qualifying it as such would be a tasteless misrepresentation of genius. The Heat legitimately became the beast of the east when it took out the alleged monsters at the one and two seed, Milwaukee and Boston.

Sure, Giannis Antetokounmpo logged 38% of the series minutes in round one. Miami still eliminated Milwaukee in its building the night the Greek Freak dropped 38 points and 20 rebounds.

In the next series, the Heat shattered the fifth-seeded Knicks’ home-court advantage and won both in Miami to go up 3-1. Jimmy Butler missed Game 2 because flop merchant Josh Hart jumped into his ankle, probably capping his explosion the rest of the Playoffs, despite what he says. Miami finished New York off in six.

Its seven-match Eastern Conference Finals with the Celtics should be remembered as a classic. A wise scribe once said the best series involves both squads winning at least two on the road. Miami won three, lost three and then redeemed itself, but in the ECF, three victories came away, and Boston earned two at the Kaseya Center.

The Playoffs have an unmatched ability to expose a player’s genuine basketball character. Tyler Herro, a 20-point per game scorer who recorded 37.8% of eight attempted triples in the regular season, broke two bones in his shooting hand 19 minutes into Game 1 in Milwaukee. His absence could have plunged the group’s chances because of its reliance on him as a dribbler and floor spacer. Yet, the Heat continued to move the rock well and log the highest 3-point percentage in the Playoffs.

Gabe Vincent and Caleb Martin combined to make 38 of 76 (50%) 3-pointers in the ECF with Boston. Max Strus was at his best in the Conference Semifinals against New York, contributing 14.7 points on 35.4% long-range efficiency but an eye-popping 79% on 2-point tries (19).

Kevin Love, former ‘Wolve and Cavalier acquired from the buyout market in February, had 18 starts out of 23 Heat Playoff games. His marksmanship and lacerating outlet, plus half court passes, were a secret weapon through three rounds. Spoelstra inserting him as a starter in Game 2 of the Finals in Denver was one of the pivotal adjustments that propelled the visitors to a dub. He shot poorly but recovered extra possessions and was disruptive against the Nuggets’ drives in the backline.

Butler was the frontman for the Heat’s campaign. In Game 4 against Milwaukee, he dropped 56 points, tied for the fourth most ever in a Postseason match. Through it all, he finished with 592 on his scorecard in 23 outings. Only 16 players in NBA history have supplied more through a Playoff run.

In the Finals, Adebayo was the Heat’s finest performer. He was tasked with trying to contain the league’s most nuclear weapon, the Joker, and still had the energy to bestow 21.8 points on 45.5% shooting in over 41 minutes nightly.

The Heat made mistakes too. Spoelstra didn’t trust Haywood Highsmith to play real time in the Finals, and Butler was too passive for lengthy spurts in multiple outings, while Miami was overmatched. Had Highsmith been used as a rotation piece when Vincent and Strus went cold instead of relief minutes, and Butler had been more authoritative, it would have only delayed the inevitable.

Wednesday, the Heat conducted exit interviews. Adebayo said the moments he went through with his teammates were appreciated.

“You never know what can happen next year,” Adebayo said. “You never know what can happen at the deadline. So for me, I just soak in all the good moments, the bad moments, the adversity, all of it. You cherish it because that’s what makes it a brotherhood. We’ve been through so much this year, and I feel it’s brought us closer as brothers.

But one of them is guaranteed to be gone from the locker room. Captain Udonis Haslem’s watch has ended.

UD’s impact is unreplicable. He sacrificed playing time for the development of the troops starting back in 2015. Haslem trained as hard as anyone and was a respected voice behind the scenes, in spite of uniformed factions of the fanbase and clueless media members wondering why the Heat used the 15th roster spot on him. He’s walking away because he’s fulfilled as a pro, and the guys get it now.

At Sunday’s media day, while Denver was up 3-1, Butler said there was no appreciation for the journey. It came short, but the Heat was the second eighth seed and first play-in team to reach the NBA Finals. JB didn’t think too much of it because he’s cursed with always wanting more. But Wednesday he said his biggest takeaway was his gratefulness to compete with his teammates.

The theme of the regular season was one step forward, two backward. It’s why the group developed the reputation for getting tasks done the hard way. The Heat was the 12th seed on Nov. 21, a month into the season, through 18 games. It never ascended past the sixth seed.

“I am just grateful to be a part of the run we had,” Strus said. “It was a very fun basketball experience for me, and I’ll always remember the moments and run we had. As far as what’s next, I don’t know, but I’m looking forward to it, enjoying the journey and letting things take care of itself.”

—

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The crowd roared as confetti rained on the Denver Nuggets, holding the Larry O’Brien Trophy for its first time. As the final minutes of Game 5 faded, family members of players and coaches rushed through the tunnels to join their people. Public relations agents, ex-players down to the ball boys and security guards were walking with their chests out in jubilation.

To start, Miami forced Denver to commit four turnovers in three minutes, but coach Michael Malone stopped time, summoning his troops for a correction. It resulted in an unmatched 12-point burst, and Heat coach Erik Spoelstra issued the club’s first break.

Bam Adebayo missed two easy shots at close-range defended by Nikola Jokić but swiped off the nerves, making four straight buckets, facing up, and attacking through pick and pop plus the roll. Max Strus was his only help, scoring eight points while the rest of the unit had two.

Jimmy Butler was plagued again by Kentavious Caldwell-Pope’s rapid hands, getting blocked on a low post-up, and he missed as Jokić’s length bothered him in drop coverage. The first sign of an off night for JB came when he missed both free throws in the first following three bricks.

In the first interval, the Heatles were curbed to 35.7% shooting but took four more shots and two additional freebies. They also drew two fouls apiece on Aaron Gordon, Jeff Green and Jokić, compelling Malone to sit his trusted former back-to-back MVP two minutes earlier than his average.

In the second quarter, Butler isolated Deandre Jordan for a scoop layup and finished a fastbreak dunk. Kyle Lowry splashed two 3-pointers, one at the top of the key against the drop and another well-contested strike from the corner.

Defensively, the Heat contained Jamal Murray to a pair of baskets by staying with his dribble and contesting the step-back up top or pull-up from the elbow.

At halftime, the Heat led 51-44. Adebayo had 18 points on eight of 13 attempts. Butler had eight on 25% shooting.

In the third quarter, Jokić fractured the visiting advantage by exploiting mismatches of Vincent stuck on his hip and backing down Adebayo from the perimeter to cup for a hook with a putback.

Miami multiple times tried to get actions going in the paint, but Michael Porter Jr. and Jokić’s tentacles caused eight misses in the box.

In the fourth quarter, Spoelstra made a dreadful mistake by inserting Cody Zeller for a minute. Miami was up a point, but within multiple possessions, he was attacked in the paint, and his overhelping on a drive gave away the Heat’s advantage as Murray canned a left-wing trifecta.

Suddenly, JB turned from Alfred the Butler into Playoff Jimmy as he hit two 3-pointers, a pull-up in the post, plus five free throws. But as Miami was up one with 90 seconds left, Bruce Brown tracked down an offensive rebound and laid it up off the glass, giving Denver the lead.

Miami engaged in the free throw formality, but it was too late. The Denver Nuggets won the 2023 NBA championship. It was the first time the organization had been in the title round since the 1976 ABA Finals when losing to the New York Nets in six games.

At the postgame presser, Malone said his team isn’t satisfied with the outcome, but it’s looking towards more.

“The last step after being a champion is to be a dynasty, “ Malone said. “So we’re not satisfied. We accomplished something this franchise has never done before, but we have a lot of young talented players in that locker room, and I think we just showed through 16 Playoff wins what we’re capable of on the biggest stage in the world…”

Porter, who at 23 had his third back surgery, arrived at the speakers table next, reeking of champagne and asking someone in the room to join him up front. There were no takers. He said adjustments were made, but being a close-out game, the intensity level was the most significant change.

“It was physical, people were missing shots, it wasn’t a pretty basketball game, but that’s what winning a championship is all about,” Porter said. “You got to be able to win in many different ways… It’s just about winning.”

Caldwell-Pope was next. He said it was amazing to have the Nuggets get back to its first Finals since 1976.

“I’m excited to just be a part of the history that we made tonight,” Caldwell-Pope said.

While KCP was answering another scribe’s inquiry, Jokić arrived and informed him his media availability had concluded by affectionately pouring a beer on his head.

When the Joker took the stage, he was asked about the emotions in his journey, going from pick #41 in round two of the 2014 Draft to NBA champ and Finals MVP. He said, “It’s good. We did a job. I think we played the best basketball in the Postseason…It’s a great journey, the 41st pick, but to be honest, that doesn’t matter. When you’re here, you’re a player, and they have [seven] guys that are not even drafted [who are] contributing for them to win.”

The parade will pass through Denver Thursday.