Chris
All the juicy details around the failed Damian Lillard trade between Portland and Miami are coming to light, and we’re here for it.
One of the wildest pieces of information could reveal why the trade between the two teams never actually went ahead.
Portland wanted Jimmy Butler or Bam Adebayo for Dame, according to NBA insiders Shams Charania and Sam Amick.
“The Blazers and Heat had multiple conversations in July, but the sides never engaged in substantive negotiations, according to those sources,” The insiders said. “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.”
One of the reasons Lillard wanted to go to Miami was to play with Bam, and it seemed like the Heat wanted to create a Big Three of Jimmy, Bam and Dame.
So to ask for one of the Heat’s two best player may have been asking too much.
The insiders revealed exactly what Pat Riley’s team had to offer.
“For their part, league sources say 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,” Charania and Amick reported. “But the Blazers were disinterested, with each side developing a level of contentiousness.”
Another NBA insider, Chris Haynes also revealed that things became heated (if you will) between the two franchises.
“The Heat say they never had a legitimate opportunity to negotiate,” Haynes said. “Throughout the process, they felt Portland allowed emotions to get in the way of business. Lillard’s camp believed it had become personal.”
In the same report, Haynes said that Lillard told Blazers GM Joe Cronin that he would prefer to take back his trade request and return to Portland if a deal with Miami was unable to be negotiated.
“Cronin’s response to the seven-time All-Star was that there was no coming back” Haynes said.
As we know, a third team became involved in the deal (Phoenix Suns) which allowed Lillard to be moved to Milwaukee.
In the deal, the Blazers got Jrue Holiday, Deandre Ayton, Toumani Camara, Milwaukee’s 2029 unprotected first-round draft pick, and unprotected Milwaukee swap rights in 2028 and 2030.
But it looks as though Holiday won’t be staying too long.
In his first season with the Bucks, Jrue Holiday clinched a championship alongside Giannis Antetokounmpo and now he’s been replaced.
“Jrue is my f–king brother for life,” Antetokounmpo said of Holiday, via Chris Haynes. “I love his family. I love him. I appreciate him. I wish him nothing but the best. He blessed me with a f*cking championship.”
A day after Holiday declared he wanted to be a Buck for life, he was traded as part of a three-team blockbuster deal to get Damian Lillard to Milwaukee.
Despite having a big say in what happens at the Bucks franchise, Antetokounmpo wasn’t consulted about the trade because of his relationship with Holiday, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports.
“He literally played no role,” Wojnarowski said on ESPN. “In fact, John Horst, Milwaukee’s GM, he did not bring this trade idea or sign-off on it to Giannis Antetokounmpo because Jrue Holiday was involved… he did not want to put that on Giannis Antetokounmpo and have that on his conscience.”
The Greek Freak was very vocal about his desire to win another championship over the summer and even though he didn’t have a direct influence on the deal, Wojnarowski says that Dame to the Bucks was a play to keep Giannis around long-term.
“Giannis didn’t have any real direct influence on it,” Wojnarowski said. “Certainly in the broader scope, Horst makes this decision, the Bucks make this decision believing that it gives them the best chance to win more titles, to contend over a longer period of time with Giannis Antetokounmpo and of course it gives them, they think, a better chance to get him to do a new deal with them when he’s ready to sign an extension.”
Obviously, acquiring Lillard doesn’t automatically mean that the two-time MVP will stick around once his contract is up, but it certainly helps the Bucks’ cause.
The 2021 champions have shot to the top of the NBA title favorites list following the trade.
It is interesting to note that in Holiday’s time at the Bucks his three-point shooting percentage (39.5 percent) is actually better than Lillard’s three-point percentage (37.2 percent).
