(Photo by Soobum Im/Getty Images)
After superstar guard Damian Lillard let it be known that he wanted to be traded before the start of next season, the Portland Trail Blazers were put on the clock, but the franchise knew there’d be plenty of interest in the future Hall of Famer.
Then Lillard made things that much more interesting and challenging for the Blazers by saying he wanted to be traded to the Miami Heat to play with Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo.
Although it was a bold move by Lillard, who had been loyal to the franchise for so long, it seemed inevitable that this blockbuster trade would go down at some point during the summer.
Unfortunately for Lillard, who emphasized his desire to play for the Heat a little too often, the Blazers decided to pivot away from making a deal with Miami and began talking to other teams about a deal.
Ultimately, the Blazers made a three-team trade with the Phoenix Suns and Milwaukee Bucks, making Lillard happy because he gets to share the floor with Giannis Antetokounmpo from now on.
However, it was recently revealed why the Blazers chose not to make a deal with the Heat, and it had to do with Lillard’s agent being a little too vocal, according to Ben Maller of FOX Sports Radio.
“From what I’ve gathered, Portland was prepared to send Damian Lillard to Miami, and then his agent gave comments to the media that rubbed people the wrong way in Portland, so they pivoted.”
@benmaller on Dame claiming Blazers did him dirty pic.twitter.com/ELkHXh1Tx4
— FOX Sports Radio (@FoxSportsRadio) October 12, 2023
This isn’t all that surprising, as even the NBA got involved in this situation at one point because Lillard’s agent wouldn’t back down or stop talking about his client wanting to be traded to Miami.
In retrospect, it doesn’t really matter, as both parties are now happy with how things went down, but it definitely got ugly for quite some time there.
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