Damian Lillard’s trade to the Milwaukee Bucks from the Portland Trail Blazers has made the biggest headlines this off-season. There were many speculations before this trade materialized, with reports suggesting Dame to land in Miami or Toronto. Taking the best of the opportunity, British basketball player and the Raptors’ $72,000,000 asset OG Anunoby cleverly pranked Dame by tricking him into believing he was traded to Toronto. Lillard received Anunoby’s tricky message in between an interview, which made him nervously check whether he was traded to the Raptors. Days since this prank, Dame revealed to Chris Haynes how this had shocked him for days and had caught him off-guard.
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Damian Lillard is arguably the hottest trade of this off-season. While many anticipated Dame to land in Miami, the move to Bucks was certainly a surprise for the NBA fans. Now that this trade is done, the NBA community is already placing their faith in Giannis Antetokounmpo and Dame’s combination to be a championship contender for this upcoming season.
Toronto Raptors OG Anunoby successfully pranked Damian Lillard into believing he was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks
The Damian Lillard trade saga was indeed a dramatic sphere of several events during the off-season. While Jimmy Butler and the Heat eagerly anticipated Dame, the former Trail Blazers guard had no whiff of his next destination himself.
Amidst such chaos, Toronto Raptors’ OG Anunoby pranked Lillard into believing he was traded to Toronto. Describing this experience, here is what Lillard told Chris Haynes.
“I mean, obviously, I didn’t know what was…everything was up in the air! I was on the phone and I got a random text from OG like ‘Welcome to Toronto.’ He was like ‘Welcome to Toronto.’ He is always like messing around, like joking and stuff like that, we trained together in summer a little bit. He texted me like ‘Welcome to Toronto,’ so I was like ‘Let me call this dude and see.’ Iprobably called him, he didn’t answer. He did called me back, he was laughing. And I was like, he just caught me off-guard. I know it didn’t happen like that.”
The prank Raptors forward OG Anunoby pulled on Bucks star Damian Lillard that shocked him days before the actual trade,
“Welcome to Toronto.” pic.twitter.com/kSJ4WAAIKv
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) October 3, 2023
Just a few days before the NBA media day, Damian Lillard was announced to be traded to the Bucks. He was part of a three-way deal, wherein the Bucks received Dame while Portland received Deandre Ayton (via Phoenix Suns), Toumani Camara (via Suns), Jrue Holiday (via Bucks), a 2029 1st round pick (via Bucks), and two first-round pick swaps with Bucks for 2028 and 2030. On the other hand, the Phoenix Suns received Grayson Allen (via Bucks), Keon Johnson (via Blazers), Nassir Little (via Blazers), and Jusuf Nurkic (via Blazers).
Damian Lillard’s trade shaped much of the Eastern Conference’s recent NBA trades
Damian Lillard’s trade can be said to have literally shaken the NBA trade market. The Eastern Conference is now witnessing intense business among franchises, looking for trade options. The Portland Trail Blazers benefitted immensely from this trade, gaining a plethora of draft picks from the Celtics by trading Jrue.
Hours after the Blazers received Jrue Holiday from the Bucks, they traded the guard to the Celtics. In return, the Blazers received Malcolm Brogdon, Robert Williams, a 2024 1st round pick (via Warriors), and a 2029 unprotected 1st round pick (via Celtics). Definitely, Dame’s trade helped the Blazers benefit immensely in terms of securing their upcoming future.
