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In early July, Damian Lillard demanded a trade from the Portland Trail Blazers to the Miami Heat.
The two teams started negotiating right away but things allegedly fell apart rather quickly.
That ultimately led to Lillard being traded to the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday.
According to a report from Shams Charania, via NBACentral, the Blazers were really swinging for the fences when they picked up the phone to call Miami.
They apparently asked the Heat for Jimmy Butler or Bam Adebayo in their first trade call centered around Lillard.
The Portland Trailblazers asked the Miami Heat for Jimmy Butler or Bam Adebayo in their first trade call centered around Damian Lillard, per @ShamsCharania pic.twitter.com/HAstRP3r4h
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) September 28, 2023
That obviously created a huge speed bump in negotiations from the very start.
There was no way that the Heat were going to give away either Butler or Adebayo.
They have been committed to both of those stars for years and have publicly said they are the future of the franchise.
Didn’t Portland know this?
Were they just trying to start with a larger-than-life request, knowing that both sides would then work down from it?
From the very beginning, the Blazers made it clear that they weren’t going to commit to anything unless it provided them with a very strong return.
They wanted A-list talent for Lillard and wouldn’t settle for anything less.
This news shows that talks between the Blazers and Heat were doomed from the initial call.
There was no way that they’d ever come to an agreement that made both sides happy.
The Blazers and Heat have always been competitors but they haven’t had a real rivalry.
But did this rough process between teams just create a brand new front office rivalry?
The post Insider Reveals Trail Blazers’ Massive Demands In Damian Lillard Talks appeared first on The Cold Wire.
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