Windhorst: Celtics 'Kicked the Tires' on Damian Lillard Trade Before Bucks Deal

The Boston Celtics "kicked the tires" on a possible trade for Damian Lillard, according to ESPN's Brian Windhorst.

Windhorst reported at the 31:50 mark of the newest episode of The Hoop Collective podcast the Celtics showed cursory interest in the star point guard. He added he was unsure of how far along any trade negotiations got.

The biggest saga in the NBA came to a conclusion Wednesday when Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reported the Portland Trail Blazers agreed to trade Lillard to the Milwaukee Bucks.

Immediately after Lillard requested a trade from Portland in July, some wondered whether Boston would make a run. The 33-year-old would address the offensive issues that hampered the Celtics in the playoffs, and, in Jaylen Brown, they had a valuable trade asset.

They were reportedly among the teams that reached out to the Blazers early on, and Jayson Tatum reportedly reached out to Lillard directly about the possibility of playing in Boston.

But Boston took Brown off the table when it handed him a five-year extension that can total more than $300 million. The front office also cashed in on some of its chips when it acquired Kristaps Porziņģis from the Washington Wizards.

From that point forward, executing a Lillard trade was difficult. The Celtics would've needed to match his $45.6 million salary, and they didn't have left in the trade cupboard.

Combining Malcolm Brogdon's $22.5 million salary with Robert Williams III probably wouldn't have been all that attractive for the Blazers, who are entering a rebuild. Dealing Brogdon and Derrick White after having already sent away Marcus Smart would've put Boston in a backcourt pinch.

In retrospect, the Celtics' mistake might have been getting Porziņģis in late June rather than waiting to see how the Lillard saga unfolded. The Latvian had an opt-in deadline in his contract that forced their hand in that regard; their window to finalize the trade was closing quickly.

When that happened, Boston needed some outside help to re-enter the Dame sweepstakes.