Report: Damian Lillard Eyed Bucks, Nets When Heat Trade Was 'Virtually Impossible'

Even though Damian Lillard's preference was to play for the Miami Heat, the seven-time All-Star kept an open mind when it became apparent they weren't going to find a deal that worked for the Portland Trail Blazers.

Per The Athletic's Shams Charania and Sam Amick, Lillard was "open" to the prospect of joining the Milwaukee Bucks or Brooklyn Nets once it became "virtually impossible" for a deal to South Beach to materialize:

"Yet once Lillard was convinced that the Heat possibility was virtually impossible, sources briefed on discussions say he became open to the prospect of playing for the Bucks and the Brooklyn Nets. The backchannel blessings commenced. [Lillard's agent Aaron]Goodwin, sources briefed on the talks say, communicated Lillard's interest to those teams as a way of paving the way for a possible deal. League sources say the Suns, with their sights set on Nurkić and other roster depth, were planning to be a part of trades with the Bucks, Nets or Heat."

The Bucks made the move to acquire Lillard on Wednesday in a three-team deal with the Blazers and Phoenix Suns.

The Nets certainly had the capital in terms of draft picks to make a competitive offer for Lillard. They own unprotected first-round picks from the Suns in 2025, 2027 and 2029 from the Kevin Durant trade and a top-eight protected pick from the Philadelphia 76ers in 2027 from the James Harden trade.

When Lillard made his initial trade request to the Blazers in July, there were reports he wouldn't show up if any team other than the Heat acquired him.

The public overtures about Lillard's desire to play in Miami got so blatant that the NBA issued a memo to all 30 teams warning that any player or agent who made public or private comments indicating he won't "fully perform the services called for under his player contract in the event of a trade" would be subject to discipline.

Based on Lillard's reaction when the trade was announced, it doesn't seem like he is going to have an issue playing in Milwaukee:

One reason the Blazers weren't keen on taking Miami's offer is because the Heat weren't "believed to be offering even close" to their full array of available assets, per Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald.

Jackson noted the Heat's offer was reportedly "built around [Tyler] Herro and two first-round picks (in 2028 and 2030). Such a deal also would need to include a cap-facilitating contract—Kyle Lowry's or Duncan Robinson's."

The Blazers wound up getting a package from the Bucks that includes Jrue Holiday, an unprotected first-round draft pick in 2029 and unprotected pick swaps in 2028 and 2030.

Per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, the Blazers are "expected to immediately engage contending teams" about a trade involving Holiday.

Sports Illustrated's Chris Mannix said on Boston Sports Tonight (h/t Darren Hartwell of NBC Sports Boston) Portland's asking price for Holiday is going to be steep at "probably" two first-round draft picks because of the number of teams that will likely be in the market for the 33-year-old.

If that scenario ends up playing out, the Blazers would come away with five future first-round picks if the swaps with the Bucks convey. That's a significantly better outcome for a rebuilding franchise than the two picks that were reportedly offered by Miami.

Lillard may not have got the exact deal that he wanted when all of this started, but he's in a great position to win his first championship getting to play alongside Giannis Antetokounmpo in Milwaukee.