Bucks star Damian Lillard details ‘irritating’ end to Blazers tenure

After 11 years of remaining loyal to the Portland Trail Blazers, Damian Lillard's trade request this summer led to ample tension with the organization on his way out the door. 

Speaking with Sam Amick of The Athletic, Lillard revealed that the rift between his camp and Blazers general manager Joe Cronin reached a point of no return, eliminating any real opportunity he would land with the Miami Heat. 

“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's trade request in July came with the well-known caveat that he preferred to land in South Beach. However, Portland's minimal discussion with the Heat throughout the trade process limited any real possibility that Lillard would get his wish. 

“(The Blazers) hadn’t talked to Miami," Lillard 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).”

In the grand scheme, Lillard got most of what he wished for — he was traded out of Portland and sent to a legitimate title contender. While his hopes of joining the Heat are in the rearview mirror, teaming up with Giannis Antetokounmpo in Milwaukee catapults Lillard and the Bucks over Miami as Eastern Conference favorites.