After Lillard’s agent Aaron Goodwin openly declared the Miami Heat as the only preferred destination for Damian Lillard, teams were unwilling to make a futile trade for him. But two weeks before the trade, Lillard’s agent inquired him if he’d be comfortable playing alongside Giannis. Lillard thought the fit made sense “basketball-wise” and hinted at the possibility of doing so.
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In his recent sit-down with Malika Andrews on ESPN, Damian Lillard disclosed that the Bucks weren’t the initial choice in his mind when he initially asked out of the Portland Trail Blazers. Andrews asked, ”Milwaukee[Bucks] very quickly became the right fit for you but it wasn’t initially right on your list of places you wanted that to go, is that right?”
“Not initially,” replied Lillard
He had assented to his agent a couple of weeks before the trade when he asked him if he could play with The Greek Freak. After two weeks, when he saw a picture of Antetokounmpo and himself in a Bucks jersey, he felt that it was “just a speculation”. But after reading the caption and the comments, Lillard realized its manifestation. Later his agent who finalized the deal called the guard to confirm that he had been traded to the Bucks.
Upon learning about the trade, the Guard reacted, ”I was like ‘you serious’ cuz he[his agent] play a lot, you know, he always joking. I’m like “you serious” and he like, ‘yeah, I’m gonna call you back. So, we didn’t even really have a full conversation. He was like, ”I got to call them back, I just wanted to tell you’’”
The sharpshooter was taken aback because he had been planning to play alongside Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat. The league had also reprimanded him for openly stating his desire.
Damian Lillard wanted only the Miami Heat
After the relationship between Lillard and the Trail Blazers’s top management fractured, the guard asked for a move. He didn’t want to play for a franchise that was not even Playoffs-bound, and wanted to be with a contender. Miami Heat which has a solid hoops culture and has made two finals in the last four seasons, appeared as the choice. The prospect of playing alongside two-way superstar Jimmy Butler had allure.
Therefore, throughout the offseason, Damian Lillard’s agent Aaron Goodwin made it clear that Lillard only wants the Miami Heat as his destination. NBA’s administration took exception to this open declaration as it was against the rules. They issued a memo to all the teams that if a player or his agent makes public or private comments about not “performing the services called for under his player contract in the event of a trade”, he will be penalized heavily.
After that, Lillard and Goodwin had to pledge that they would perform as per their contract wherever Lillard was traded. When the Miami Heat and Portland Trail Blazers couldn’t work out a deal, contenders Milwaukee Bucks took the bragging rights for Lillard. The cost of sitting out a season could have hit his reputation so the guard decided to suit up for the Bucks. Additionally, since he is hunting a championship, teaming up with the 2021 NBA Finals MVP made a lot of sense.
