Damian Lillard Says Blazers Talks Were 'Irritating'; Knew He Wouldn't Get Heat Trade

Prior to landing with the Milwaukee Bucks, star point guard Damian Lillard made no secret of his desire for the Portland Trail Blazers to trade him to the Miami Heat.

However, Lillard told The Athletic's Sam Amick that he eventually realized that his relationship with the Blazers had deteriorated so much that his request was not going to be fulfilled.

"It was anything to go against what I would have wanted," Lillard said. "That part was irritating. Just based off how it was happening, I knew (it wouldn't be Miami)."

Lillard had given up on the idea of landing in Miami by late September. Per Amick, "The acrimony between his camp and Trail Blazers general manager Joe Cronin had reached a point of no return." Cronin had reportedly discontinued communications with Lillard's agent Aaron Goodwin in mid-September. When Lillard chose to rejoin the Blazers before training camp, that decision was "met with resistance" from Cronin.

The message was clear for the seven-time All-Star, and he knew it was time to move on.

"(The Blazers) hadn't talked to Miami," he said. "So once it started happening like that, then I started hearing about all these other random teams, I was like, 'I'm probably not going to Miami.' So I wasn't holding on to that too (much)."

Amick noted that Lillard then decided to get word to Milwaukee that he would be "excited about a possible partnership" with the franchise, which eventually led to the three-team trade that shipped him out of Portland.

Now, Lillard is paired with two-time NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo to form one of the most dangerous duos in the league this season. The 33-year-old had been hoping to land with a team that would get him closer to winning his first NBA title, and the Bucks gave him his best chance to do just that.

Lillard and the Bucks will open their 2023-24 campaign on Thursday against the Philadelphia 76ers.