NBA Rumors: Blazers Didn't Reengage with Heat Before Trading Damian Lillard to Bucks

For most of the summer, it looked like the Miami Heat would get to set their price in a Damian Lillard trade and the Portland Trail Blazers would just have to accept it.

Blazers general manager Joe Cronin insisted on playing the long game, and it paid off Wednesday.

Portland agreed to trade Lillard to the Milwaukee Bucks as part of an eight-player, three-team deal that will send Deandre Ayton, Jrue Holiday, Toumani Camara and future draft consideration to the Blazers, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium

The Suns, the third party in the trade, acquired Jusuf Nurkic, Nassir Little, Keon Johnson and Grayson Allen.

And, as it turns out, the Heat were never particularly close to landing Lillard. Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald reported Portland never gave the Heat a chance to give a final offer, and the two sides barely communicated after initial conversations in July.

Lillard made it clear in no uncertain terms that he preferred a move to Miami, given both the team's strong culture and his friendship with Bam Adebayo and Jimmy Butler. The situation was so blatant that Lillard's agent, Aaron Goodwin, released a statement thanking the Heat for their efforts.

"They did everything they could to acquire Dame. It takes two to get a deal done. I appreciate all that Pat, Andy and Micky did to try and make this happen," Goodwin said.

Throughout the process, it seemed no serious suitor would step up, with Lillard's behind-the-scenes bluster about preferring a Miami move and the Blazers' asking price combining to create a tepid market. Talks appeared to heat up over the last week, with a number of teams—Miami included—being linked in talks.

Instead, the Bucks cashed in their chips to make an all-in run at winning another championship.

Make no mistake, this was a move designed to appease Giannis Antetkounmpo first and foremost. Antetkounmpo has been jarringly honest about his future this summer, saying he would not commit to re-signing in Milwaukee without the organization committing to building a title contender.

"I'm a Milwaukee Buck, but most importantly I'm a winner," Antetokounmpo said on the 48 Minutes podcast. "I want to win. I have to do whatever it takes for me to win and if there's a better situation for me to win the Larry O'Brien [Trophy], I have to take that better situation."

Even if the Bucks don't win a second championship in the coming seasons, this is clearly a full-fledged commitment to winning. Lillard is by far the best teammate Antetokounmpo has ever had, the Milwaukee is arguably a better situation than Miami for winning title for Lillard.

It will just be interesting to see whether two players who are used to being the fulcrum of their franchises can co-exist.