The Portland Trail Blazers made a stunning trade Wednesday, sending longtime star Damian Lillard to the Milwaukee Bucks. While the trade pairs Dame Time with The Greek Freak (Giannis Antetokounmpo) and gives Milwaukee a dynamic duo, it wasn’t where fans expected Lillard to land after he requested on July 1 to be sent specifically to the Miami Heat.
Lillard believed he gave the Blazers loyalty over 11 seasons and wanted the franchise to move him to his preferred landing spot.
So why didn’t a Portland-Miami deal come together?
The Blazers and Heat had multiple conversations in July, but the sides never engaged in substantive negotiations, sources briefed on those talks told The Athletic’s Shams Charania and Sam Amick. In an initial call, the Blazers asked the Heat for Jimmy Butler or Bam Adebayo. The Heat came to believe that the Blazers had little to no interest in engaging in a deal with them, and as much as Lillard and Goodwin wished that the Blazers would attempt to satisfy his wish, Portland refused. As the summer progressed, Lillard wanted the Blazers to simply try to find a deal with Miami, but those wishes, in his mind, also went unfulfilled.
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A timeline of the saga that led to Damian Lillard’s trade to the Bucks
For their part, the Heat were prepared in July and August to offer up to three first-round draft picks — with Tyler Herro going to a third team — and multiple second-rounders and swaps along with expiring contracts and 2022 first-round pick Nikola Jović, per league sources. But the Blazers were disinterested, with each side developing a level of contentiousness.
As the Blazers began to start serious trade talks across the league on Sept. 18, a bevy of teams — the Bucks, Boston Celtics, New Orleans Pelicans, Toronto Raptors, Minnesota Timberwolves and Chicago Bulls — all showed interest in Lillard, league sources said.
— Damian Lillard (@Dame_Lillard) September 28, 2023
Meanwhile, in Lillard’s camp, sources briefed on the matter said there was a realization that he would need to start seriously considering the prospect of playing somewhere other than Miami.
Now that the trade has happened, the deal has ripple effects that will be felt around the entire league, including by other teams who had been seen as possible destinations for Lillard. The full trade involved the Blazers sending Lillard to the Bucks in a three-team deal that saw Portland receive Jrue Holiday, Deandre Ayton, Toumani Camara, a 2029 Bucks first-round pick and two Bucks picks swaps in 2028 and 2030. Portland also traded Jusuf Nurkic, Nassir Little, Keon Johnson and Grayson Allen to the Phoenix Suns.
For more on how the unexpected blockbuster Lillard trade to the Bucks came together, read The Athletic’s full story.
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(Photo: Rob Gray / USA Today)
