In the aftermath of the trade that brought Damian Lillard to the Bucks, new details are starting to emerge on where things went wrong for the Miami Heat. After being revealed as the only team on Dame’s wish list, Miami had a months-long head start to acquire Lillard and yet somehow still failed to secure a deal in the end.
Apparently, the blame doesn’t just fall on the shoulders of Heat GM Pat Riley. According to league insider Ben Maller, the Blazers turned away from the Heat only after certain comments were made by Lillard’s agent, Aaron Goodwin. “From what I’ve gathered, Portland was prepared to send Lillard to Miami,” said Maller. “Then his agent gave some comments to the media that rubbed several people in Portland the wrong way. It was at that point that the Blazers pivoted. Lillard’s agent had embarrassed the franchise.”
“From what I've gathered, Portland was prepared to send Lillard to Miami. Then his agent gave some comments to the media that rubbed several people in Portland the wrong way. It was at that point that the Blazers pivoted. Lillard's agent had embarrased the franchise” – @benmaller https://t.co/9CRFkyEjlf pic.twitter.com/knjraHqYRu
— Dru (@dru_star) October 12, 2023
The Heat and Blazers did have some conversations throughout the summer, and it was widely believed that Portland would honor Lillard’s request to go to South Beach. Unfortunately, a deal never panned out, and it left the Heat with nothing to show after a summer of waiting.
Aaron Goodwin Threw Major Shade At Trail Blazers
Lillard ultimately got his wish of moving to a contending situation, but it’s no secret that the Bucks were not his first choice. Before the deal, Lillard and his camp were going to extreme lengths to punch his ticket to Miami and his agent Aaron Goodwin, went so far as to call other teams to warn them from trading for his client.
“Goodwin is telling organizations outside of Miami that trading for Lillard is trading for an unhappy player,” reported Adrian Wojnarowski this summer. “As interference goes, this is a time-honored agent maneuver to depress offers and clear a path to a predetermined destination.”
It seems like Goodwin may have overstepped his power in this case, and even the NBA had to send out a memo condemning the behavior. The result was essentially pissing off the Blazers organization, and it pushed them to seek out a deal somewhere else. Ironically, the push to get Lillard what he wanted may have been what sealed his fate to the Bucks.
Miami Heat Are The Biggest Losers
Heat GM Pat Riley was confident that he had all the leverage in this situation, and he even “dared” the Blazers to find a better deal than they were offering. In the end, their bold strategy failed, and it left the Heat as the summer’s biggest losers. Besides missing out on Lillard, the Heat also said goodbye to several quality role players, including Gabe Vincent and Max Strus. So, with Butler another year older and Miami down two key rotation players, they could struggle to match their efforts from last season.
It remains to be seen how/if Miami will recover from the missed opportunity but it’s hard not to blame Aaron Goodwin for his role in breaking Lillard’s dream of joining the Heat. Had he taken a different approach to the situation, Dame could be better off, and Miami could be talking about gunning for a championship instead of how they can keep up with the new-look Bucks.
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