Chris
LOS ANGELES – One unwavering goal resulted in Damian Lillard landing with the Milwaukee Bucks.
“I don’t think it’s a secret how much I want to win. That’s how we get here today,” he said on Monday at media day, wearing a white Bucks jersey with No. 0 for the first time.
“They want to win equally as bad as I do. I couldn’t be more excited, I couldn’t be more thankful for this opportunity to be part of this organisation, playing alongside the best player in the league.
Lillard was traded to the Bucks in a multi-player deal from the Portland Trail Blazers last week, ending an 11-year run in the only National Basketball Association (NBA) home he has known since being drafted sixth overall in 2012.
The guard is the all-time leading scorer in Portland’s franchise history, but said moving into a new role where he is “not the best player on the team” is an adjustment he is glad to be making.
Lillard also gave his account of how the deal happened, that his agent had called him to alert him and wanted to let him sit with it for a while before discussing logistics.
He added that his family were all out of the house and none of them picked up his call when he reached out to inform them before the news hit social media.
The quiet gave him a window to absorb the reality of the situation.
“Then the calls started coming in, friends, my family members,” Lillard said.
“I started thinking about the team. I saw what kind of team I was coming to be a part of and then that was when the excitement started kicking in.
“Just recognising the opportunity that it is, just knowing how much I want to win. Going into every season being optimistic and thinking we had a chance to get it done (in Portland). And then now coming into this situation and knowing you’ve got an opportunity to do it.”
Lillard said he first talked to his agent about the Bucks two weeks before the trade.
“Obviously, Giannis (Antetokounmpo), it’s public record that I’ve always mentioned, if I had to team up with one person it would be him,” he said. “It was an option so why not? Why pass up on that type of opportunity?”
Antetokounmpo, on his part, said he could not believe the news when he heard it.
“Unbelievable,” he said on Monday.
“He loves the game. Extremely hungry. I’ve been here 10 years, we’ve been doing things quietly. We’ve been kind of moving under the radar. Obviously this kind of move brings a lot of attention to the team, a lot of hype around the team.
“I believe and I think a lot of people believe, we’re one of the best teams in the East. But at the end of the day, it’s not about what we believe or what people believe. It’s about what we do.
