Damian Lillard’s Agent Addresses Heat’s Pursuit Before Blockbuster Bucks Trade

The point guard did not get traded to his reported preferred destination.

Throughout the summer, Damian Lillard reportedly made it known that he wanted the Blazers to trade him to the Heat. However, Miami and Portland couldn’t come to an agreement, resulting in the Blazers trading Lillard to the Bucks on Wednesday.

While Miami failed to land the point guard, Lillard’s camp does not blame the Heat for the result. In fact, Lillard’s agent Aaron Goodwin said he appreciated how president Pat Riley and the Miami organization approached negotiations.

“They did everything they could to acquire Dame,” Goodwin said, via Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. “It takes two to get a deal done. I appreciate all that Pat, Andy and Micky did to try and make this happen.”

Goodwin notably omitted any mention of Portland when discussing the Blazers not sending Lillard to his preferred destination, after both teams had months to find common ground. In the last few weeks, the Blazers were reportedly “refusing” to talk with the Heat about a Lillard trade as they seemed to set a high price in negotiations.

The Heat, meanwhile, reportedly dared Portland to find a better trade partner, which seemed to come to fruition on Wednesday.

Although Lillard did not end up with the team he may have initially wanted, the point guard will move forward with Milwaukee instead of trying to continue to force his way to Miami. The expectation was always that Lillard would cooperate with whichever team acquired him, even if that team was not the Heat.